Swingin' Life Away
by NightmareWalker
Summary: Rizzoli & Isles circa the Roaring Twenties! Speakeasies, alcohol, and finding oneself are only part of the grander scheme of things when it comes to growing up during a time of upheaval and glamour. Jane runs abreast of the Irish mob in this tale of intrigue and danger. Featuring Jane as the sarcastic bartender and Maura as the confident mafiosa we all know she is!
1. Chapter 1

Hey, y'all! I know, I know, I have several other stories, BUT! BUT, I thought you might enjoy this anyway. Am way ahead, and more or less know where it's going so everything should be kosher, so here you go!

Lots of old slang, so for any of you curious peeps out there, translation-esque stuff is at the bottom.

Read on!

* * *

On the busy streets of Boston, a lone female figure deftly wound through the crowds of twenty-somethings out for a night on the town. In their fashionable fur coats and snappy clothes, the throngs of festive young people smoked with abandon, calling out to each other and waving down cabs to take them to their destinations. The woman, however, ignored the loud exultations around her as she silently wandered down a slightly less busy side street. She pulled her fedora lower over her brow and stuck her hands in the pockets of her high waisted pants, feeling the pull of her suspenders on her shoulders. She whistled a jaunty tune as she crossed the street and walked through the door of a hole-in-the-wall diner.

She tipped her hat at the man behind the counter and walked into a phone booth on the far wall. She rung in a number and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for an answer, growling, "It's me, Frost."

She hung up and, a few seconds later, the backside of the phone booth swung open. She slipped through the hidden door quickly, walked down the few steps into the hidden room and turned in time to see her friend launch himself at her. "The hell is wrong with you tonight? You're acting like some Bull is going to waltz in and slap some bracelets on you."

"Jane… _Jane_." Frost set his hands on Jane's shoulders and stared at her seriously. "Don't you know?"

"Know _what?_ Quit chewing gum and level with me!"

Frost's smile lit up his face and he rocked excitedly in place. "Korsak finally found a seller! They're supposed to be coming by before open to talk about supplying us!"

Jane's eyes widened and she grabbed Frost's elbow. "You're joking."

"Serious as a fire extinguisher on a first date, I swear it on my mama's grave."

"Your mama is still alive, Frost. I just spoke to her a week ago."

Frost chuckled as he swept his arm out and led Jane toward the back of the speakeasy where several men were wiping down the bar and taking chairs off tables. "So, where is the old man?"

"Out back, waiting for them to arrive. We should probably be there, too; better to give a show to any bootleggers. Especially these types; he says they're serious. Irish mafia." Frost tugged Jane through the hidden exit behind the kitchen and down some steep steps to the alley out back. They found Korsak pacing anxiously around some dirty puddles with a contemplative frown on his face and his cap stuffed in his back pocket.

"Hey, old man."

"Janie?" Korsak whirled on his heel and his hangdog expression morphed into one of surprise and happiness as he gathered Jane into a massive hug. "How are you doing? Thought you swore never to come back?"

"Yeah, well…" Jane shrugged blithely as she kicked a pebble at her feet. "Not like I can leave you; you're the only pop I've got, right?" Korsak's blue eyes misted with tears as he smiled and squeezed Jane's shoulders again.

At the end of the alley, lights from a car appeared and stopped to let its occupants exit the vehicle. The headlights blinded Jane to the identity of the four people approaching them; the quiet idling of the car likewise muffled their steps as they walked across the cobblestones. Jane subtly edged in front of Frost and narrowed her eyes at the people. She watched Korsak from the corner of her eye as he stepped out in front of them and held out his hand toward the person in front, whose features gradually became recognizable as male. The other three stopped just far enough away for Jane to not be able to distinguish any features, to her annoyance, and she kept a wary eye on them as she watched Korsak's back.

"Mister Doyle, it's a pleasure. I'm Vince Korsak."

"Call me Paddy, Vince. And these two are…" Paddy gestured at Jane and Frost with a lifted eyebrow.

Korsak tugged Jane forward by her arm and she lifted her chin boldly. "Jane and Frost, two of my employees."

"Are they reliable?"

"We know better than to beat our gums to any passing Jane, if that's what you're asking," Jane interjected. She caught Paddy's eyes and stared at him until a wry smile quirked one side of his mouth; her hackles lifted as he chuckled and gestured at the three at his back.

"My associates. You'll be dealing with them if our business continues. Susie Chang." A petite woman with Asian features stepped forward and adjusted her glasses perched on her nose. Her other hand was stuffed in the pocket of her jacket as she shuffled in place.

"Kent Drake." A tall man with a well trimmed beard and dark eyes flashing beneath his newsboy cap ducked his head at them as he casually pulled a kerchief from within a pocket inside his coat, briefly showing a small pistol tucked into a shoulder holster.

"Maura Isles." The affection in his voice was subtle, but Paddy's face betrayed nothing as the last person stepped forward.

Smaller and nonthreatening looking, with hair the color of spun gold gathered in an elegant twist at the back of her head, she stepped up next to Paddy and smiled. Her hazel eyes glinted in the twilight as she extended her hand to Korsak and a dimple popped in her cheek. "A pleasure, I'm sure."

Paddy jerked his head at the other two, who walked through the back door past Jane and Frost. "If we're to do business, I'll need insurance my goods won't be 'misplaced.'" Jane's face contorted with righteous anger; she took a step toward Paddy and found her movement arrested as Frost grabbed her arm. Before her, Maura's hand darted toward the pocket of her coat and Paddy held out his arm. "Now, there's no need for this to devolve into violence so soon. I assure you, Jane, my intentions are purely to ascertain the viability of this business venture."

His smooth tones grated on Jane but she grudgingly stepped back as Frost pulled insistently on her arm again and Korsak shot her a sharp look. Korsak gestured at the back door as he smiled faintly. "Why don't we go in? I can give you a tour, show you the way in and out."

"Of course."

Korsak led them into the kitchen. Paddy spared a glance at the cooks working there as they walked into the barroom and found Susie skulking behind the bar as Kent interrogated a hapless barmaid. Korsak walked Paddy toward the stairs that led to the hidden entrance as Jane strode over to save the panicked looking barmaid. "Victoria has work to do, thanks. No time to beat her gums with a harp."

She smirked cruelly at Kent as she steered the woman toward the kitchen and turned just in time to avoid running into Maura, who was standing silently behind her with an inscrutable expression on her face. "You don't help your case at all," she stated bluntly.

Jane sighed and stuck a hand in her pocket. She played with the strap of her suspenders with her other hand as she let her head fall back to study the tin ceiling. "Listen up, lady, we've got an hour until the first Joe comes down those stairs, and I haven't even got the liquor on the shelf yet. So excuse me if I'm short with you."

She brushed past Maura and bent down behind the bar for the liquor stashed beneath a loose floorboard. As she set the bottles on the bar top, she heard footsteps stop next to her. She ignored them, knowing if it was someone who worked there they would talk to her. They cleared their voice and Jane continued ignoring them, deliberately taking her time rooting around for the short bottles of homemade liquor that were brought in occasionally.

"I don't appreciate being ignored."

"And I don't appreciate being harassed by mafia, so I guess we're both out of luck, aren't we?" Jane leaned against the bar and crossed her arms as she stared at Maura, whose eyes were narrowed in irritation.

She took a step into Jane's personal space, visibly frustrated by the few inches of height Jane had on her that forced her to look up into her face. "Are your ears not functioning properly, you-"

"Aw, is the poor little Bunny getting mad?" Jane mocked Maura with a smirk twisting her lips. Maura's eyes darkened as she snarled and stepped up toe to toe with Jane and wrapped her fingers around her collar. Jane's fingers dug into her biceps as she forced herself to remain immobile and only smirked wider down at Maura, who looked ready to shove her into the bottles on the bar top.

She leaned in until they were almost nose to nose and husked, "Did that get you good and riled, _Bunny?_ " Maura's fist trembled against her shirt as she pushed Jane hard into the bar, and Jane bit back a wince as the edge of the bar top bit into the small of her back.

" _Maura._ " Maura reluctantly disengaged at Paddy's sharp tone and stepped away, although she kept her eyes steadily on Jane's as she backed away. "We're going now. Get the other two and go to the car."

"Of course." Maura took a couple more steps back and jerked her head away when Kent called for her. She stepped just before turning away and caught Jane's eyes again. "It was…just _Jake_ to meet you, Jane."

"Wish I could say the same, Maura. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Jane lazily picked up a bottle and saluted at Maura, whose features had gone pink with suppressed fury, and pointedly turned away from her to start stocking the shelf behind the bar. Once Maura's footsteps faded, she let out a shaky breath and let the knot between her shoulders ease, feeling a headache begin to tap behind her eyes.

Her gaze swept across the room and paused on Korsak and Paddy, bent over a table and some papers scattered across it. Paddy's grey eyes were watching her with something lighting them from within that made Jane tense up again, and she made herself turn her back on the man. A few minutes later, someone rapped their knuckles on the bar and she turned to find Paddy leaning against it with a faint smile tipping his lips up.

"What's your poison?"

"What's your best whiskey?"

"Got some top shelf left from the last shipment before our rum runner got pinched."

Paddy nodded and Jane poured him two fingers in a glass. He swirled the alcohol around slowly and took a small sip, humming appreciatively. "Better than most."

"Best we've gotten since this whole business started," Jane said.

"That so?"

"Yeah, usually we can only find panther piss that isn't fit to clean a cut with, let alone drink." She shrugged and set the bottle back on the shelf behind her. "But, hey, those high hats want to ruin themselves. Who am I to tell them no, I get paid regardless."

Paddy snorted into his glass and tipped the remnants into his mouth with a happy smack of his lips. "That's a rather pragmatic way to look at it."

"I'd rather that than be idealistic."

Paddy stared into the empty glass for a moment and set it solidly on the bar top, then dragged his palm across the varnish. "You know, I like you, Jane. You're quite the bearcat, I'll give you that, and that's rare to find in a skirt. You don't take crap from anyone, even me, and that's rarer." His eyes flicked up to Jane's, flat grey and impossible to read. "Careful that spunk doesn't get you into trouble someday though. It'd be a shame to see that smile mirrored on your neck on account of loose tempers."

"Is that a threat?"

"A warning. I don't make a habit of threatening people I'm working with unless they need it, and you don't yet." Paddy straightened up and set his hat on his head. He tipped the bill at Jane. "Keep your eyes open, Bearcat, and your claws sharp. Have a good night."

He left without another word, leaving Jane staring in befuddlement until the tails of his coat had disappeared. She startled when Korsak slapped her on the shoulder and rocked on her feet from the force of it. "What, old man?"

"We got it, Janie!"

"Got?" Jane blinked incomprehensibly, then grinned broadly and launched herself across the bar. "Really?! That's just…that's just great!"

"Yep, Paddy said he would supply us for a thirty percent cut, and he said he can get us top shelf liquor, too."

"Which will bring in more swanky customers-"

"And more money."

They smiled widely at each other until Frost appeared from the kitchen with sweat beading on his brow. "So, is anyone else nervous about dealing with Maura Isles for the foreseeable future? Because she just raked up one side of me and down the other, and I didn't even do anything!"

"We're _what!_ "

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you thought this was a good – no, you know what, this totally makes sense! You told Paddy we would _work_ with that – that – that _woman-_ "

"Oooh, good comeback, Jane."

"Pipe down, Frost," Jane barked irately. "I'm trying to be mad at the old man, who thought it was a _good idea_ to _agree_ to let _her in here with us._ "

She glared at Korsak, who just sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "Jane. It was either I agree to Maura being the courier, or we would have to find another supplier."

Jane crossed her arms petulantly but didn't say anything else. Her jaw flexed as she ground her teeth and ignored the quiet murmur of the crowd in the bar. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers and shook her head. "Fine. Whatever. I can deal with it, but I swear, the first time she tries anything-"

"You'll what, Jane? Give her the bum's rush?"

"If that's what it comes to, yes!"

"She's the underboss to Paddy Doyle, who leads one of the most notorious mobs in Boston. If you lay a hand on her, it had better be to walk her out the door, and not _anything_ else. Do you understand me?"

Jane stubbornly kept quiet, staring at the wall between Korsak and Frost, and stiffened when Korsak set his hand on her arm. "Jane, I'm just trying to keep us afloat. You know that, right? If I could…"

She softened slightly at his tone, sucked in a deep breath, and let the tension seep out of her on a sigh. "I know, old man." She looked at Frost apologetically. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, it's fine. Family sticks together, right? Even if one of them is being a Dumb Dora." He smiled at Jane's over-exaggerated expression of betrayal and pulled her into a hug. "Just don't go getting yourself killed by any pretty girls packing heaters, yeah?"

"Yeah." She sunk into his warm hug and patted him on the back. "Suppose I should get back behind the bar; that boy doesn't know Jack about mixing drinks."

"Maybe if you'd let him do it more, he'd learn!" Korsak yelled at her back, rolling his eyes fondly when she just waved and walked through the door.

Frost nudged him and pulled him closer to the back door, away from the ears of the cooks in the kitchen with them. "Do you think it'll last?"

"I do, yes. What's the matter?"

"I just…the Doyle's have a reputation." Frost's expression darkened. "They really have a stellar past in customer service."

"We don't have many options, Frost. I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to, but if I shut the bar down…"

"You know we could all get other, _legal_ jobs, right?"

"The others? Sure, they could all get other jobs, but you and Jane?" Korsak snorted. "Can you even picture Jane behind a desk as a stenographer or typist? Or maybe working behind the counter in some store like C.F. Hovey Company?" They both shook their heads in amusement. "Not many people are willing to hire on colored folk for a fair wage, either."

"I could make it," Frost insisted. "I did for years before you found me."

"I know that, and I also remember the bag of bones you were. Shining shoes, sweeping trash, working the factory line? If putting our welfare in the hands of the Doyle Family keeps you two safe and provided for, I'll do it every time." Korsak squeezed Frost's shoulder and sent him back out front with a gentle push.

He walked out a few minutes later to find the bar jammed with men waiting for their drinks. Jane and Victoria were busy pouring drinks and taking money off the bar top, working effortlessly together as their attention split between the drinks they were pouring and the orders being told to them. On the floor, Frost and another man were making the rounds to the half dozen tables crammed against one wall, taking drink and food orders in scratchy shorthand from the men and few women scattered through the crowd. The small room seemed filled to burst with just a few dozen people closely pressed together between the bar and the tables, and a small area near the stairs was mostly empty but for a piano nestled into a corner and a few stringed instruments leaned against the wall behind it.

He nodded to himself and retreated back into the kitchen, helping the cooks with the orders and losing himself in the familiar motions until he heard the murmur in the other room suddenly die off. He wiped his hands off and stuck his head through the door to find nearly every head turned toward the piano. A giddy, disbelieving smile swept across his face as he took a step through the door just as the first low tones of the piano reached his ears. Above the heads of the patrons, he could just see Jane's curly hair bent low over the piano. She swayed lightly to the melody she was coaxing from the keys, eyes shut as her fingers seemed to dance across the ivory teeth and her feet filled out the sound on the pedals.

The nameless tune gradually morphed into something recognizable and Frost stepped up beside her, singing the familiar words in his pleasant voice and drawing appreciative applause from the men in the bar. Jane seamlessly started another piece after the first and Frost launched into a faster paced, jazzier song that drew pairs of dancers onto the tiny floor. The couples whirled energetically, dizzyingly displaying their familiarity with the movements and rhythm of the song as the music drew to a crescendo. As the final chords died on the air and Frost wiped at his brow with his kerchief, a great round of applause went up from the bar-goers. Korsak walked across to Jane and pulled her to her feet, presenting her proudly to another raucous round of applause. She blushed and glanced down and away, staying in place only by Korsak's supportive hand on her wrist and Frost's manic beaming grin.

As the people settled once again in their chairs, Frost clapped his hand on Jane's shoulder and shoved her. "I thought you'd given up tickling those ivories for good, Jane!"

"It just…felt right, I guess." Jane shrugged shyly and looked up at Korsak through her eyelashes. "I'd better get back behind the bar, old man."

"You did good, Janie." The proud grin Korsak shot at Jane brought tears to her eyes that she brusquely brushed away and laughed off. She swept back behind the bar and started filling drinks immediately, fending off playful and insistent clamors for her attention with the ease of a professional.

As she sent a tumbler of vodka across the bar and swiped the money off the counter, her eye was caught by the glint of light off metal. The ring was slim and simple with a blue stone set into the casing; a few diamonds were set into the ring on either side of the blue stone and drew the eye but didn't overwhelm it, and she casually studied the hand the ring decorated. Long, tapered fingers dotted with small scars drew her eyes to a slim wrist and to the cuff of a well tailored jacket.

"I didn't realize you played, Jane."

Jane's good mood evaporated immediately and her polite smile sank into an irritated frown. "Maura Isles. I thought you had gone back to your warren with your associates." The reference to Jane's new nickname for her made Maura's eyes narrow, but she otherwise didn't react to the dig.

"I decided to bring the shipment early rather than wait for Monday night." She studied her nails and glanced askance at Jane. "The customer service seems to be lacking. As a patron, I would have assumed my drink would have been delivered by now."

Jane's scowl deepened as she gestured at the bottles behind her. "You haven't ordered anything yet. Pick your poison."

Maura tapped her lips thoughtfully as she studied the bottles. "Do you have any red wine?"

"A few bottles under the bar; it's not exactly popular with our usual customers." Jane gestured at the gently swaying men lining the bar on either side of Maura.

"I'll take a Dubonnet Cocktail, then. If you think you're up to it?"

Jane scoffed as she pulled an unopened bottle of red out from beneath the bar and blindly reached for a tall, fat bottle of gin. She mixed them together and offered the glass to Maura, who kept steady eye contact as she swirled the liquor and took a small sip. Her eyebrows lifted and she hummed before taking another sip. "Better than most I've had."

Jane's lips quirked into a smirk. She leaned on the bar after making sure no one immediately needed her attention. "Only better than most? That's genuine Vermouth bought off a dealer who had a few dozen bottles left in his cellar and the best gin we could get our hands on."

Maura peered through the glass and took another sip. "I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree, then."

As she drank, she watched Jane fidget for a moment before pulling a shot glass out and pouring some unidentifiable clear liquid into it. She threw it back and winced, then poured another shot in a clean glass and set it in front of Maura. "On the house, for the new…business, you're bringing us." She skittered further down the bar to deal with a loud group of men who were overwhelming Victoria.

Maura watched her easily fend off their crude innuendoes and fill drinks without batting an eyelash with piqued interest, studying her fluid motions and the easy going, if somewhat vague smile that played about her lips. She finished her drink and surveyed the shot sitting before her for a long moment; the clear liquor gave her a distorted view of the scarred counter and seemed somehow more than a simple drink, but she put the thought to rest and took the shot with a faint grimace as she set the glass solidly on the bar. She turned in her seat and people watched until the speakeasy slowly began emptying and Jane came out from behind the bar to usher the stragglers out a few at a time.

Frost and the other waiter were wiping down tables and putting chairs up as Victoria pulled a broom out; the wordless synchrony was fascinating to observe as they effortlessly worked around each other, Victoria trailing behind the two men and sweeping as chairs went up while Korsak put the bottles behind the bar beneath the floorboard. Jane came back down the stairs with a crate in her arms and hefted it atop the bar. The contents rattled loudly in the welcome quiet and Maur felt the vibrations at the end she still occupied.

"Last of the last shipment," Jane said. She started pulling bottles and jars out for Korsak to take, removing corks and twist tops so he could check the contents before stocking them under the bar.

Maura got up to investigate, peering into the crate to find it full of bottles of bootleg liquor and glasses of all sizes. She pulled a tall, wide bottle out, squinting at the brown liquid within skeptically.

"Ah, you might not like that." Jane took the bottle by the neck and set it on the bar.

"It looks like whiskey."

"It is. It's from a guy who makes some of the most potent Brown you'll ever have, if you don't mind sacrificing your liver. That rotgut tastes like gasoline…pretty sure it's made with it, actually." Jane snorted and caught Korsak's eye as he scoffed at a bottle he was holding. "Remember that smarty that came in a few weeks ago?"

"Janie, I don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning," he deadpanned.

Jane quirked a smile that creased the corners of her eyes. "Tall, red dress under some fur coat. Blue eyes, brown hair in some fancy braided bun. Bit of a flour lover?"

Korsak snapped his fingers at the same time Frost's head popped up and he chortled merrily. "That skirt was making doe eyes at you all night! She spilled her drink on the bar when you smiled at her!" He fluttered his eyelashes mockingly and Jane chucked a washcloth at him, smirking as it smacked his chest and he clutched it playfully.

"She was bent, Frost, she couldn't even _see_ me! Anyway, she walks in not long after we open and drapes herself across the bar, nearly flashing her bubs at me," Jane dramatically threw her upper body across the bar and propped her head on her fists, fluttering her eyelashes at Frost mockingly. "Ordered some whiskey and took that first shot like it was water. I think she regretted it once her eyes started watering though. Her eyes were streaming and I just – handed her a tissue before her liner ran."

"And then she wouldn't leave you alone," Frost added helpfully.

" _Yes_ , Frost, we've covered that."

"No, I've _mentioned_ it, you've been brushing it off!"

Maura's eyebrow lifted curiously as Jane flushed a little. "Brushing what off, exactly."

"Nothing."

"This fiery little girl, after a few shots, _waltzes_ behind the bar and throws her arms around Jane's neck and says, 'you're so _pretty_ , I just wanna kiss you,' and proceeds to lay one helluva smooch right on her lips!" Frost's expression was positively gleeful as he affected a tipsy falsetto and puckered his lips.

Maura huffed out a laugh as her eyes slid over to Jane. She froze at the dangerous look in her eyes, surprised at the heat that lit her eyes from within. "She was drunk, Frost, and you're off your nuts if you think anything else." She all but growled the words and the quiet sounds in the bar completely stopped at her tone.

Everyone's eyes went to her, studying the dark flush in her cheeks and the shadows in her eyes, and the room seemed to take a collective breath and hold it. Maura's eyes flicked from Jane to the others, wondering what was going on, when Jane grunted and stalked out from behind the bar, ignoring Frost's apologies and Korsak's pleas to come back. They all winced when something clattered to the ground in the kitchen and the door leading to the alley slammed pointedly.

Korsak glared at Frost, who held up his hands placatingly. "Hey, I was just yanking her chain. It was just a bit of fun."

"You _know_ how she-"

"I didn't _mean_ anything by it!"

"It doesn't matter!" Korsak sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He started putting the bottles under the bar and motion slowly resumed in the bar. The subtle glances at Korsak's bent back and tension lingering on the air made the hair on Maura's neck lift as she stood and pulled at the sleeves of her jacket.

"I believe we should discuss particulars before I leave tonight, Vince."

"Of course. Frost, will you lock up?"

"Yeah. Listen, old man, I didn't-"

"Don't tell that to me, talk to _Jane_ ," he said sternly.

Frost ducked his head remorsefully and nodded. "I will. I'll go see her tomorrow, after morning services."

"Make sure you do."

After wishing everyone a good night, Korsak led Maura outside and pulled her to a stop in the alley in front of her car. "Vince," Maura started briskly, "I understand that Paddy discussed with you the terms of our arrangement?"

"Yes; you supply the liquor, we repay you with thirty percent of the profits."

"I'll level with you, then. I believe you to be an honest man, but you understand that we can't be left holding the bag if the deal is reneged upon."

Korsak's expression spoke of his surprise and he waved his hands frantically. "I wouldn't ever-"

"I believe you, but Paddy is…wary. Put simply, he's been burned before, so in recent transactions, he's posted some…muscle in places that he's dealt with, just in case." Maura lowered her voice and leaned in. "I don't want you to be alarmed if a few unsavory looking characters show up and plant themselves in the corner of the room for the night in the near future."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I feel that he's making a mistake. Not with the others, not all of them, but there are some who are honest businesspeople who don't deserve the intimidation." A dark look flashed across Maura's face as she pulled back; the hand brushing over the fabric concealing her weapon clued Korsak into her thoughts.

"Others…" They lapsed into silence that was broken by the rush of traffic, heavy on a Friday evening, and the occasional burst of laughter from the near street.

"The first cases will arrive Monday, right?"

"Yes. We've already given your order to the correct suppliers, we'll have the bottles by Sunday night and I'll deliver them Monday evening."

"You…"

"I will be your normal courier. Unless something happens, you can expect to see me every week to drop off the cases. I will do everything I can to let you know ahead of time when I will be by. And if you need something else delivered, you know the proper channels to go through to contact myself or Paddy."

Korsak nodded and rubbed his jaw, eyes staring past Maura contemplatively. She let him think for a moment and shuffled backwards towards her car. "If there's nothing else?"

"Oh, I'm just – one thing." Korsak's lips pursed and a crease appeared between his eyes. "I know things between you and Jane aren't exactly copacetic."

"They don't have to be; I am only-"

"I know, it's just – she's a tough girl, my Janie. She's had to be. All I'm saying is…don't let your first impression of you be your only one. I know she's got a smart mouth on her, and a temper like a Roman Candle, but past that…she's special. Just give her a little time to warm up to you." He shrugged and smiled briefly before tipping his head at Maura. "Have a good night, Miss Isles. Drive safely."

"I will, Vince."

As she walked to her car, Korsak's voice caught her attention again. "I really like your breezer, she's beautiful."

"She's the best money can buy; she's got me through a lot." Maura waved at Korsak as she slid behind the wheel and started the car, backing out of the alley and swinging into the street with a confident shift, aware of Korsak's eyes on her as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

Slang synonyms:

Bull - cop

Bracelets - handcuffs

Chewing gum - ambigous talk, being vague

fire extinguisher - chaperone

Beating one's gums - making idle chatter

Jane - referencing any female

Beating one gum's with a harp - talking with an Irishman

Bunny - term applied to a lost or confused woman; usually derogatory

Rum Runner - person who moved illegal alcohol via ship

Panther piss - one of dozens of slang terms for illegal alcohol

High hat - snob

Bearcat - woman with spunk

Skirt - one of many terms for a female

Bum's rush - forcefully ejecting a person from an establishment

Dumb Dora - absolute idiot, especially to women

Packing heaters - carrying a weapon

Brown - one of dozens of terms for whiskey

Smarty - cute woman

Flour lover - woman who uses too much makeup

Bent - one of dozens of terms for a drunk person

Bubs - breasts

Off your nuts - crazy

Copacetic - excelent


	2. Chapter 2

I'm super duper sorry about the delay, guys. I had no time to write, and then I simply couldn't, and _then_ my gods be damned laptop decided to have a stroke and the fan quit working so THAT WAS A THING _._ Nonetheless, I prevailed!

I am working on the next installation of Roadside Assistance, I promise! Also, I wish you all were logged in so I could have conversations with you, but I will address those who weren't below:

Richie - Here you go!

Monica - I promise I'm not that mean, unless you ask me to be ;)

oolee - Thank you for the constructive criticism, I love it. Keep it up!

Randi Myers - I did not know that, thank you for sharing the information with me!

HBO 123 - I'm glad you like the first chapter that much! Here's more!

French Kiss - I promise I won't stop in the middle of the story, here's more!

Read on!

* * *

Jane muttered mutinously as she yanked her dress sleeves down her arms and trailed along in her mother's footsteps. Angela was briskly walking down the street toward their church, her salt and pepper hair covered with a hat as her purse swayed on her arm, and she looked over her shoulder with eyes nearly the same shade as Jane's to find her daughter. "Jane, hurry up!"

Her mother's accented English was familiar as Jane lengthened her long stride to catch up to Angela. They walked up the stairs together into the cathedral and took their seats near the middle of the massive room overlooking the altar, the quiet murmur of their voices lost amongst the hundred other people still walking through the doors.

"I'm just so happy you decided to come to mass this morning, Jane! And you look like the bee's knees in that dress; why don't you wear it more often? You're so pretty when you get all dolled up."

"Because it _itches_ ," Jane groused, yanking next at her collar with a scowl firmly on her features. "And I have to sit like a _lady_."

Angela waved her complaints away lackadaisically. "It's so beautiful on you though! Take advantage of it, Janie, the weather's going to turn soon. Did you see the leaves starting to turn?"

Before Jane could answer, the music suddenly swelled and everyone stood in the pews. Jane watched the priest walk toward the altar and begin to lead them in prayer, reciting the words by rote as her mind wandered. She watched him pace across the stage and come to rest at the dais, gesturing emphatically as the people around her nodded occasionally. By the time came to receive the bread and wine, she was regretting her guilt-laden decision to go to mass and privately curled her lip before plastering a vague smile on her lips as she took the cracker. She waited for Angela to walk to her seat before sitting on the end and stared through the priest through the end of the service.

As they walked back outside surrounded by dozens of conversations, Angela started talking and gestured at a group of people standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Now, I know you've declined before, but I was talking to the Talucci's at dinner this week and – you know Carla's son, Giorgio? He's in town for the week on business and they're coming to dinner Sunday night; I thought you and he would like to get to know each other."

Jane groaned aloud as her mother's longtime friend waved and yanked a tall, heavily muscled young man forward, gesturing at them with her free hand. She just barely evaded Angela's reaching grasp as she frantically searched for an escape route. Her eyes lit upon familiar dark skin framing wide, apologetic eyes and locked onto them desperately. "Sorry, ma, Frost is right there and I just remembered I had to talk with him about – about a dog. Be back later!"

She darted through the crowd, ignoring Angela's shout as she nearly ran over Frost and grabbed his arm. "C'mon, before I get pinched again!"

"Jane?"

"Pretend we're on the lam, Frost; just run!"

He followed her willingly enough down the sidewalks packed with early risers until they were well away from the church steps. They panted quietly for a moment as people flowed around them with barely an odd look; Frost regained his breath first and clapped Jane on the shoulder. "Wish you'd have told me we were going to run, I'd have worn my heels!"

"You can have mine," Jane said smartly, flashing the ankle covering kitten heels on her feet. "Let's sit down somewhere, you can tell me what you were doing outside the church." She led them to a table outside a café and folded her arms across her chest as she lifted an eyebrow pointedly at Frost. "Well?"

"Give me a second, let me figure out where to start."

"The beginning is usually a good place."

Frost shot her a dirty look and she lightly kicked his shin with the toe of her heel. "Yeah, yeah. So, listen." He steepled his fingers on the table and leaned back when a waitress brought out two glasses of water and asked if they wanted anything else.

After ordering some coffee, Jane gestured for Frost to continue. "I'm sorry about last night," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have said what I did, at least not in front of a near stranger. I was just horsing around, Janie."

Jane stared at him for a second, then sighed heavily as she pinched her nose between her fingers. "I get that, I really do. I don't know why it bothered me so much; I usually don't mind when you razz me a little."

Frost took in the shadows under her eyes and the jittery way her fingers tapped on the table top. His shoulders slumped thoughtfully as he ducked his head and studied the scratches etched into the wood. "Hey, c'mon, I'm fine. I'm a big girl, right? I can take a joke, Frost."

"Yeah, but I should've known better than to tell _that_ joke after you told me to stop. I _am_ sorry, Jane."

She waved his apology off as one side of her lips quirked up. "You know how you can make it up to me?"

"How?"

"Help me play keep away from my mother until Monday night?" Jane's eyes were suddenly wide and beseeching and Frost laughed deeply.

"What'd she do? Your mama is one of the nicest ladies I've ever met."

"You've never seen her when she gets on one of her 'Janie, you need a man in your life. Janie, you need someone to take care of you. Janie, when are you going to give me grandbabies to spoil?' tangents, obviously." Jane groaned and dragged her hand down her face. "I swear, that woman gives me an ulcer when she opens her mouth somedays."

Frost kept chuckling as an idea started forming in his head. "Well…I might have something you'll enjoy."

"Oh?"

Frost nodded decisively as the plan solidified in his mind. "Yeah. Do you want to go out tonight? I know this really nice club I think you'll enjoy; they've got some swanky jazz singer tonight who's supposed be the cat's ass, apparently."

"What kind of club?"

Frost's eyes darted away for a second as a flush darkened his cheeks.

"Frost," she said warningly.

"It's nothing bad, just – c'mon, Janie, you want to get out of the apartment, I know a place, can't you leave it at that?"

" _No_ , now tell me."

"It's a – it might be, kind of, a little-"

"Quit beating your gums and _tell_ me!"

"It's a pansy club," he exclaimed quietly. He shrunk back as Jane's eyes widened and watched her carefully. Her mouth opened and shut wordlessly for a second. She started to say something and shut her mouth, then tried again a minute later without success. Frost cautiously took a sip of coffee and studied her over the rim of the cup. Her eyes were narrowed, although she wasn't glaring at him but seemed to be staring at something in the middle distance. Emotions flickered across her face too quickly for him to get a handle on what she was feeling, but he let her think in peace until his cup was empty and the waitress had refilled it.

He people watched as he waited, idly studying the families, couples, old and young alike, as they wandered down the street on one of the last warm days autumn would offer. Even then, a crisp nip lingered in the air that almost made one want to retreat inside, but the coercive draw of warm sunlight was enough to bring most out.

"I'm not…I – frost, I'm not…"

"Hey, Jane, hey." He covered her restlessly tapping hand with his and waited for worried eyes to find his face. "There's no expectations. It's not strictly for – other people come, too, it's just a good club that I think you'll enjoy. There's no pressure."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, ducking his head to find her eyes when she sunk down in her seat. "It's fun, really. We can dance until our dogs fall off, stagger out into the street when we're done and I can escort you home." She smiled vaguely and he chanced tapping his foot against her leg. "Like a proper _lady_."

She laughed then, weakly but present and turned her hand over to squeeze his hand thankfully. "Alright."

"Really?"

"Yeah. What should I wear?"

Frost grinned conspiratorially and leaned in. "Well, I had a few ideas…"

* * *

Jane tugged uncomfortably at the cuffs of her sleeves again, squawking as Frost slapped her hand away and readjusted the fabric. She grunted as he pulled at the collar of her shirt and then led her across the street. "Frost, are you sure about this?"

"You look nifty in your glad rags, Jane, stop worrying! Actually…" He took her hat off and piled her hair on top of her head, then jammed the fedora on again and stepped back. "Wow."

"What?" Jane touched the back of her neck, which was prickling with the unusual rush of air over bared skin. "It looks dumb, doesn't it? I'm off my nuts, thinking this was a good idea!"

She twisted on her heel and took only a couple steps before her suspenders were grabbed and yanked on. "Jane, stop. Just quit flapping your jaw for a second and listen to me." Frost stepped in front of her and smiled. "You look amazing, okay? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just…a really _, stupidly_ attractive fella."

Frost looked gobsmacked and Jane immediately pulled the fedora off her head to let her riotous curls fall around her shoulders. "I think I'll stick to this," she said as she set the hat back on her head.

A line of people were outside the doors, all talking and gesturing animatedly, but Frost confidently led them past it to the men standing before the doors and gave them his name. They were quickly let in and Jane looked around the club as she followed Frost toward some tables nearby. The soft lighting and smoke rising in the air gave it an ethereal quality, but the big band playing away on the stage at the front of the room lent energy to the people that left them laughing and shouting gaily. A woman was belting out a jazzy tune at the top of her lungs into a microphone and she barely had a chance to set her fedora on the table Frost had led them to before she was being yanked onto the crowded dance floor.

They fell into a familiar rhythm with Frost spinning Jane out and watching each other as their feet stepped and kicked to the music, and Jane laughed joyfully as she was pulled back in and twirled around him with a flick of her hair back over her shoulders. They finished out the song and stood arm in arm, panting with exertion and grinning broadly. Cheers and loud applause greeted the dancers as they stepped off the empty floor, replaced by others as another tune was struck up.

Jane barely got one foot off the dance floor when her arm was taken and she was spun around into soft arms. She looked down into a woman's doe eyes with surprise written across her face; going along with the new tempo as her brain frantically looked for direction.

"I'm Hannah; you sure looked swell up here with that colored fella. Wanna dance some more?" Her blue eyes twinkled up at Jane with intrigue as her tongue peeked out between her teeth when she smiled broadly and her dirty blonde hair bounced on her shoulders.

Jane automatically led the dance, uncertainly setting her arms around her waist to circle her, then gripping more firmly to lift her into the air for a second. When she came back down, Hannah covered Jane's hands with her own to keep them in place and then put one hand on her bicep as her other migrated behind her neck to tangle in the baby hairs at her nape. The band drew the crowded club to its feet with the music and cheers nearly covered the music at points. Jane lost herself in the dance and gradually relaxed enough to smile and laugh when their feet twisted between each other's quickly, taking Hannah's hand to spin her out and then bring her back flush against her chest.

She yelped when Hannah's hand disappeared and settled firmly just above her backside, fingers dipping beneath the waist of her pants briefly and then snapping her suspenders against her back. She smiled mischievously up at Jane and, before she could react, stood up on tiptoe and bussed the corner of her mouth. She slipped out of Jane's grasp just as the trumpets brassily announced the finale and left Jane reeling on the dance floor with a hand cupped against her cheek and her eyes locked on the space Hannah slipped between before disappearing from sight.

She staggered out of the throng and fell into her chair across from Frost, who smiled widely at her and lifted his eyebrow silently in question. "Shut up." Frost broke into loud laughter as a slower ballad started up and the singer started crooning to the microphone.

Jane turned away from the dancers coming together; she watched Frost's eyes flicker across the room and the way his easy smile dropped and panic filled his eyes. She twisted around curiously and her gaze fell upon a woman marching determinedly toward their table. Her short, dark bob drew the eye to her sharp features and nearly black eyes; her golden skin tone betrayed her heritage and the easy sway to her hips was mesmerizing. She stopped in front of them and put a hand on her hip as she stared at Frost. "Well, I'll be, Mister Frost; what a _surprise_ it is to see you back here!"

Jane blinked at the deep, lilting voice and watched from the corner of her eye as Frost shrunk back into his chair. "Ettie – I didn't – hi, I didn't realize-"

The woman smiled toothily and bent over until she was level with Frost. "I do believe you still owe me a dance. Shall we?" Without waiting for a response, she took his limp hands and dragged him out of his chair toward the dance floor. Over her shoulder, she said, "It's nice to meet you, honey! I'll bring him back in one piece, promise!" Frost shot her a desperate look and Jane shrugged helplessly, amused and bewildered when he was tugged into the throng and Ettie pulled him close to her.

She crossed one leg over her knee and bobbed her head to the slow beat, humming under her breath as the singer belted out the verses. By the time the song ended and the band picked up another quick tempo, she was people watching and found her eyes lingering on the varied clientele that filled the tables around her. On looking around several times, she realized with a start that many of the people scattered around her were, in fact, men and women dressed in drag. Effeminate men smoothed down their wigs and carefully groomed hair and adjusted their dresses subtly while women strutted through the throng with hungry eyes and debonair smiles and were pulled in by their ties to kiss other women in skirts and shimmery dresses.

She shifted uncomfortably when she realized she was staring and jerked her head back toward the dancers. Her gaze stopped on a tall redhead who was weaving gracefully around the edge of the crowd, her dress snapping around her calves as her hair tumbled freely down her back. Green eyes somehow caught her across the way and Jane shyly returned the offered smile. She briefly panicked when the woman changed course and started heading her way, but managed to calm herself by the time she had slid into Frost's vacated chair.

"Hi."

"Hi." They stared at each other for a second, then the redhead laughed and extended her hand. "I'm Charlotte, it's nice to meet you."

Jane automatically returned the handshake, letting her fingers linger on the faint calluses that marked Charlotte's hand as she smiled lopsidedly. "Jane."

"Well, Jane, what's a girl like you doing holding down the table all by yourself?"

Jane nodded toward the mass of bodies with a wry grin. "My friend got snagged by some bearcat during the last dance. I think she might have made off with him; and he was supposed to be the gentleman tonight!"

Charlotte laughed musically, covering her mouth daintily with her hand. "I can't imagine anyone playing the part of the chivalrous fella to your delicate damsel." She looked out across the sea of dancers and bit her lip; Jane found her gaze arrested by the sight of white teeth pinching a full lower lip and tugging on it briefly before Charlotte caught her eye again. "Think I could talk you into getting out there again, Oliver Twist?"

Jane flushed at the praise and smiled shyly. "I, ah…maybe just one more." She stood and held out her arm for Charlotte, who happily took it as they walked onto the dance floor.

They whirled around the floor with the other dancers, twirling dizzily until the music ended and the club erupted in cheers. Charlotte stepped back as another fast paced song began but paused when Jane's hand captured her fingers. "Another?"

"That sounds Jake to me," Charlotte said with a smile.

Jane swallowed as she pulled her back into her arms, relaxing little by little until they were flush together and several more pieces had passed. The fast music gave way to something softer, more emotive that pulled couples onto the floor who sank into each other with intimate familiarity. Jane nervously set a hand at Charlotte's waist and stepped firmly into her personal space, staring into her eyes as her other hand slid from her shoulder, down her bare arm to her hand, where their fingers tangled together automatically.

Charlotte's eyes softened as her free hand tethered itself in Jane's damp curls at the base of her neck, playing with the fine hairs and pulling just enough to keep her aware of the action, each tug a jolt to her system that left her on edge with the anticipation and anxiety of something unknown looming on the horizon. Partway through the song, Charlotte leaned her forehead against Jane's temple, and the sensation of her breath washing across Jane's cheek set her nerves alight. Her fingers tightened around her hand as she swayed into the touch, and then Charlotte was pulling away and leading her toward the back of the club.

They walked down a narrow hallway that smelled of cigarette smoke and out a door that opened into a deserted patio half hidden by the vines crawling up the fence that separated it from the street. The thick greenery blocked the cool breeze whispering through the city and offered them privacy. Jane felt the hair on her body stand on end as Charlotte led her to the wall in the corner of the patio and backed her against it gently. She pressed herself against Jane's body and buried her face against her shoulder, fingers slipping just beneath the waist of her pants.

"Charlotte, what – I don't…" Jane's hands hesitantly curled around Charlotte's shoulders; she sunk further into Jane's body and turned her head aside, laying barely-there kisses against her neck. Jane stiffened at the touch, head conflicted as she acknowledged the pleasure in each drag of lips teeth tongue over her skin and tried desperately to ignore the itch in her fingers to tangle them in Charlotte's hair and pull her head back and taste her lipstick.

"Tell me to stop, and I will, Jane."

Jane gasped as Charlotte nipped at her jaw and tipped her head back automatically, groaning as the skin was lavished with kisses that slowly migrated toward her lips. Charlotte's hand cupped her cheek, pulling her head down so she stared into green eyes blown wide with desire and they shared breath. "Do you wanna neck a little? There's nobody out here but you and me, no one to disturb us…"

She played with the hair that riotously curled behind her ear and bit her lip again. She edged closer somehow until they were molded together from thigh to breast and dipped her head until her lips brushed against Jane's with every hushed word. "Think I could get some cash from you?"

Jane's heart was in her throat as her eyes fluttered shut and she moaned helplessly as she closed the minute distance between their lips, taking Charlotte's full lower lip between hers and exhaling as her hand pressed harder against her cheek. She sunk back against the brick building when Charlotte tipped her head to the side and whined as her tongue slid into her mouth, cupping the back of her neck as her other hand finally knotted in red hair and unwillingly pulled her mouth away. Charlotte's breath came fast and heavy, eyes locked on Jane's panting, swollen lips, and she whimpered plaintively at the retreat. Jane only adjusted enough so the brick at her back held her weight better and then pulled her back.

They spent long minutes exploring each other's mouths until their lipstick was long kissed away and their hands shook with each press of lips. Jane finally tipped her head back, staring at the canopy of the patio as Charlotte placed a last kiss on her chin and pressed her forehead against her shoulder. They slowly caught their breath, listening to the band and the people within the club, the rhythmic swell and ebb of sound that marked the deceleration of their heartbeats.

"I…wow."

Charlotte laughed throatily, squeezing Jane's waist in her hands. "That's one word, bunny." Jane stiffened; feeling like a bucket of ice water had just been poured over her head. A vision of wheat colored hair and piercing hazel eyes haunted her, melodic words from a wryly smiling mouth banged between her ears, and she abruptly slipped away from Charlotte. "Jane?"

"I have to go." Jane paused with a hand on the handle of the door and looked over at Charlotte, who was staring at her in confusion and more than a little hurt. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Jane scrubbed herself furiously in the tub after she got back to her apartment until her skin was pink and raw, then sat in the cooling water until she shivered with cold. After she dried herself off, she laid awake the rest of the night, feeling bad about abandoning Frost and panicking over the guilt of the evening.

She got out of the bed the next morning feeling worse for wear and picked out an itchy, dark colored dress her mother had bought for her and pulled it on, squeezing her feet into uncomfortable shoes and pulling a heavy jacket over her shoulders to fend off the autumn breeze that groaned through the apartment building. She walked three blocks and caught Angela just as she was leaving her building.

"Ma."

"Jane?" Angela whirled on her toes and her eyes widened happily. "What are you doing here, Janie?"

"I'm going to morning service," she said bluntly.

Angela drew her eyebrows together and bit her lip as she walked toward Jane, clasping her shawl around her shoulders. "You went yesterday morning."

"Yes." Jane turned on her heel and started walking down the sidewalk, hearing Angela's footsteps lurching to keep up with her long legged stride.

"What brought this on?"

"Can't a daughter want to spend some time together with her mother," Jane snapped.

They dropped into tense silence for a few blocks until they were stopped at an intersection and Jane felt Angela's hand slip around her wrist. "Of course she can. But a mother can worry about her daughter suddenly wanting to spend time with her in a church, too. What's going on, Jane? You've been off ever since Frank…"

Jane eased her wrist out of Angela's grasp when the light changed and kept walking until the church was in sight. She stopped at the bottom step and waited for Angela to catch up to her. "It's nothing to worry about, ma. I just…need a little clarity right now."

Angela's hesitant smile prompted one from Jane, and together they mounted the steps to the church. They sat in the same pew they had the previous day and Jane watched many of the same faces as well as many other new ones walk through the doors. The mass went much the same way it had the day before; the priest walked the length of the church and mounted the stage, gave an impassioned sermon from the dais and they each walked up to receive communion. Jane bore it all with an apathetic expression until the final hymn was sung, then stepped back out into the cool autumn air and stood on the top step as the priest thanked the other churchgoers. Angela waited for her with a confused expression on the street; Jane glanced at her face and felt her guilt burn through her again.

She stepped toward the priest once the last parishioner walked down the step and cleared her throat nervously. He turned toward her with a kindly expression. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

"I – I wanted to ask you something." Jane bit her lip as he waited patiently and said quickly, "CanIcomebysometimeanddiscusssomethingwithyou?"

"I…yes, of course. I'm always available for guidance if you need it. You could come by this afternoon, maybe around four?" Jane nodded jerkily and ran down the steps to Angela, taking her arm and pulling her away from the church.

"Jane?"

"It's nothing, I just have to talk to him today."

"But what about-"

"I'll be at your dinner tonight, I have to talk to the priest at four; dinner isn't until five, right?"

"Just make sure you aren't late, Janie."

Jane grunted and left her mother at the front door of her apartment. She spent the rest of the morning puttering around her apartment, cleaning it from stem to stern and leaving it spotless when she left that afternoon for the church again. She walked through the nave, back into the sanctuary where a screen was set up. She saw the priest's feet beneath the heavy screen and cleared her throat awkwardly. "I…don't think that will be necessary."

The priest hummed and, a few moments later, came out from the behind the screen. His kindly expression was ever-present as he gestured Jane toward a simple chair on the far wall, near a cabinet inlaid with glass that displayed the chalices and various accoutrements of the church. "What's troubling you?"

"I…ah." Jane sunk her fingers into the fabric of her dress, muttering under her breath as her stomach roiled and jumped anxiously. "The bible teaches love and acceptance, doesn't it?"

"It does." The priest settled into his chair and folded his hands into the deep sleeves of his robe. He regarded Jane with a curious expression as she fidgeted and refused to meet his eyes. "The bible is a useful tool which can help us decide how to live our lives. It is not, however, the golden standard to ascribe to. For example, do you believe stoning someone for a crime such as stealing or being unfaithful is acceptable?"

Jane's nose wrinkled in disgust and she scoffed. "That's just nifty," she said sarcastically. "I'll keep that in mind next time I take an extra penny candy without paying."

The priest leveled a scrutinizing look at her as he chuckled. "The bible was written over two thousand years ago, lives were lived differently and the people had different values. What was considered righteous and moralistic then is largely seen as barbaric now. I'm not saying that the words should be completely disregarded, because there are many good points within the Book. But they also need to be taken with a grain of salt, because they are, to the best of our knowledge, second hand accounts of events at best. The parables and passages of scripture are meant to give us guidance through our lives and teach us lessons, not to be literally taken as truth." He shook his head and sighed.

"It's such a shame, really. Those Fundamentalists took the good word to extremes and have decided that it is their divine right to decide who can live in this great country. Every day, we read about some negro being lynched, we hear on the radio about great fires being started with crosses to make a point…the world is a massive place; there is no _one_ way to live a good life. There is only living a good life for yourself."

Jane blinked when he stopped speaking, taking a moment to absorb what he said. She stared at her shoes thoughtfully, jumping when his hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed. "Do you want to discuss anything else?"

"I…no. No, I don't." She stood and tugged on the hem of her dress. The priest stood with her and she shook his hand, following him out of the nave and back onto the steps. She stopped a couple steps down from him and offered a weak smile. "You've given me a lot to chew on, father. Thank you for your time."

She turned and walked onto the sidewalk, meandering toward Angela's in the cool afternoon sunlight. She stopped on the front step of the apartment building, staring down the street at the cars moving and the people bustling on their way wherever they were going. She took a fortifying breath, cussing to herself as she let herself in and walked up to the second floor.

She knocked on Angela's door and had nearly talked herself into leaving when the door was yanked open and her mother pulled her inside with a happy grin. "Janie! You're just in time, sweetheart, food's ready and our guests have just arrived!"

She took Jane's coat and ushered her into the living room where Carla was sitting on the couch with her husband Giovanni and their son. They were all conversing quietly as Angela pulled Jane into the room and looked up as one. Jane's eyes widened as they stared at her but she hid her nerves behind a professional smile.

Giovanni stood up with Carla and offered his hand. He said in heavily accented English, "It's wonderful to see you, Jane. We've missed you recently."

Jane offered a halfhearted smile as she shook his hand. "It's a lot of work to make enough scratch to live in my apartment," she said in lieu of a real explanation.

He seemed surprised by her comment, remarking, "You work?"

"Five years now as a stenographer. Keeps my mitts limber." She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers.

"That's a shame; you can't be more than twenty four-"

"I'm twenty six."

"-you should have one of your brothers looking after you or a man providing for you; you shouldn't have to worry about anything but making sure the home is clean and there's food in the fridge, and taking care of your kids."

Jane felt her hackles rise at his tone but bit back a retort when Angela squeezed her forearm in warning. "Of course, Mister Talucci," she grit out with a toothy smile. He patted her hand and asked Angela if the food was done, and they all sat around the table in the kitchen.

Angela set the plates out while Jane pulled drinks from the fridge and Carla set the food on the table. They said grace and dug in, polite chatter in English and Italian filling the kitchen as Angela and Carla gossiped about some of the churchgoers at the service that morning. Giovanni directed his attention to Jane and waved his fork between her and his son. "I don't know if you remember Giorgio."

"We sat beside each other in catechism class," Jane recalled.

Giorgio smiled as he took another bite of food and nodded. "You put a spider in sister's cup of joe one morning; we all thought she was possessed when she hopped on the desk and started screaming." Jane snickered at the memory that suddenly resurfaced. Giorgio swallowed and laughed with her. "It's a miracle any of us made it through that."

"Giorgio, tell us about work today. He's a supervisor at the factory in the Southside," Giovanni said proudly. Jane got the feeling she was supposed to be impressed but barely managed to summon up a hum to get him to talk. Giorgio launched into a convoluted story about one of the lines shutting down because of a dog that ran through some wiring and yanked everything apart – or had it been a boy chasing a dog who had gotten tangled up? – and tuned him out, humming occasionally to keep him talking as she finished her meal and counted down the minutes until she could escape.

When they were done with dinner, they all went back into the living room and Angela turned on the radio low so they could listen to the news. There was a small burst of static and then the signal came through strongly.

" _-umors of the Klu Klux Klan hosting a rally in Worcester next weekend, at the Cultural Fairground in the city. Hiram Wesley Evans_ _had no comment to questions about the purpose of the supposed gathering, but sources did confirm that the area had been rented out for an unspecified purpose on the nineteenth of October. Information on the supposed 'Klanvocation' will be released a_ s-"

Giovanni reached over and shut off the radio with a decisive click and sat back with an irritated frown on his face. "Those….Klansmen. They have no business being here! Doing this…we are only trying to make a living for ourselves in this country, the same as them; what right do they have to treat us this way?" He shrugged off Carla's arm and started pacing. "They beat Catholics in the streets; good, religious men whose only crime is that they are immigrants. They defile crosses and spout their hateful rhetoric, what _right_ do they have?!"

"Giovanni…" Carla sighed and stood, offering an apologetic smile at Jane and Angela. "We should get going; Giovanni has work early in the morning." She ushered her husband and son to the door and helped them with their coats. "We should do this again soon, Angela. It was good seeing you and Jane."

She smiled and Giovanni offered a firm handshake to them both; Giorgio only smiled shyly before he shut the door behind them and Jane slouched in relief against the wall. She flinched when Angela smacked her arm and rubbed it as she glared balefully at her mother. "What was that for?"

"You could have shown a little more interest in Giorgio, Janie! What am I going to do; _God_ , I'm going to have a spinster daughter!" She crossed herself and sighed heavily. "Lord forgive me, but I swear to God I will haunt you if I die and you don't have someone to take care of you!" She smacked Jane's arm again and stomped into the kitchen, banging pots and pans around aggressively as she washed them.

Jane rubbed her shoulder as she wandered in and stood well out of reach. "Ma."

"I just want you to be cared for, Janie. I won't always be here, and Lord knows your brothers-"

"Ma."

"-I mean, Frankie's barely making it working at the docks, and – and Tommy-"

"Ma!"

" _What_ , Jane!" Angela whirled on her feet, tears in her eyes and chin wobbling, and Jane sighed.

She folded her into her arms, surprised as she always was at how small her mother actually was and the way she fit neatly under her chin, but squeezed her waist as tightly as she ever had when she was a child. "Everything will be copacetic, ma, you'll see."

"You can't know that."

"I can. Know why? 'Cause I'm a Rizzoli, and we know how to live well, even without a man. You've managed it, haven't you?"

Angela smiled tearfully and sniffed. "It's been almost five years, but I've still got our place. I even managed to save enough to buy a new fridge!" She leaned into Jane's frame, face pressed against her shoulder and arms tight around her waist. "I wish he could see you now, Janie. He'd be so proud of you."

Jane felt tears come to her eyes and stubbornly beat them back. "Yeah?"

"He always thought you'd make the most of yourself. 'My tough little Janie, she don't need no man,' he'd say. 'She'll do all the work and still manage to have time for herself! Mark my words, Angie, our girl's gonna go places!'" Angela choked out a laugh; Jane echoed it and let a couple tears drop into her hair. "I believe that, I do, Jane. I just…I don't want you to have to always work for what you want."

"I know, ma." Jane pushed Angela back a little and smiled crookedly. "But, hey, I wouldn't be a true Rizzoli if I didn't think taking the long way around wasn't half the fun!"

"You rogue!" Angela laughed again and smacked Jane's arm, then cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to the smiling arch. "You're wonderful, Janie, an absolute doll. Don't ever lose that."

* * *

Definitions:

the bee's knees - terrific

on the lam - evading the law

dogs - feet

nifty - great

glad rags - dressy clothes

off my nuts - crazy

Oliver Twist - skilled dancer

Jake - great

neck - to make out

asking for cash - requesting a kiss

scratch - money

mitts - hands

Pansy Clubs were openly operated through the mid 30s until conservatives came into power again, drag queens and kings were fairly commonplace and the gay community was mostly accepted within metropolitan areas.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya, guys! Good news, I'm several chapters ahead! Less good news, I got another idea for a story, so...I posted a short piece to check for interest, let me know what you think.

Read on!

* * *

Jane was sitting behind the piano when Maura walked into the bar via the hidden entrance. The bar was deserted but for the employees slowly working, clearly enjoying the slow tune Jane was coaxing from the piano and the quiet that permeated the air. She stopped on the bottom step, looking at the way Jane was bent over the keys, hair just brushing the instrument as she swayed gently in place. She could just hear her humming under her breath though she couldn't quite catch what it was, but was content to lean against the wall, half in shadow, and wait for the moment to end.

Korsak walked in from the kitchen and leaned on the piano, his tired eyes meeting Maura's briefly over Jane's head. He tipped his head back toward the kitchen, gesturing for her to walk back there. She silently strode across the floor, ignoring the way the barmaid pressed herself against the wall when she passed. The music never faltered, and it only slightly softened when she stepped into the deserted kitchen with Korsak right behind her.

"You're early."

"I thought it prudent to show up before things got busy. Have to keep the winos happy, right?"

Korsak's lips turned down slightly as he walked past her. "Where did you leave your breezer?"

"In the alley, same as last week. Everything is in the trunk."

They walked out to the car and Korsak whistled at the amount of liquor stuffed into innocuous crates. "We'll need some muscle. I'll be right back."

When he disappeared, Maura pulled a small tin out of an inner pocket. She set some paper rolls on the hood of her car and measured out a small amount of the pungent herb within, then set to rolling it with single minded intensity. By the time Korsak returned, she had lit it and was in the process of inhaling deeply and letting the smoke settle in her lungs heavily. She blew smoke into the damp air, meeting his eyes as he neared. "You smoke?"

"Occasionally. It relaxes me."

She tightened her grip on the joint when Jane appeared from behind him with a blank expression on her face and walked past her toward the trunk. She effortlessly lifted one of the crates and the muscles in her forearms flexed as she hefted it. Maura almost dropped the joint when she noticed and took a hard drag when she walked by again, resolutely keeping her eyes on the ground. Korsak grunted as he lifted another and walked it in, and Maura watched silently as they took the liquor inside.

Jane appeared for the last crate and Maura swallowed hard when she noticed the damp sweat that clung to her brow and chest. Her dress shirt had been pulled out of the waist of her pants and unbuttoned, baring her undershirt and the subtle curve of her breasts and stomach, and sweat made the white shirt semi-transparent in places. Maura took another hard drag on the joint, wishing the high would hit her faster, and moaned helplessly in her head when Jane stopped in front of her and crossed her arms over her chest. Her muscles flexed and the shadow between her breasts grew, drawing the eye inexorably.

"Jane."

"I didn't take you for a fag chewer."

"Oh?" Maura pointedly put the joint between her lips and inhaled, sighing happily as the first waves of the drug hit her. "It isn't a cigarette. Just a little Indian Hop." She offered the joint to Jane, laughing when she turned her nose up and sneered at it. "Your loss."

"Those things smell horrible," Jane said pointedly.

Maura shrugged lazily. "Then I suppose it's a good thing you have to go back inside, isn't it?" She made a point of blowing a ring of smoke toward Jane and waved her hand toward the trunk. "There's another crate, Jane. I suggest you get it before I leave."

Jane muttered under her breath as she carried the liquor inside and Maura took her time finishing the joint before stubbing the butt out beneath her toe and walking into the speakeasy. She sat on a stool while Jane and Korsak unloaded the crates, stocking bottles beneath the bar and leaving a few on top.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Jane." Korsak eyed Jane heavily, sighing in aggravation when she ignored him.

"I thought once your little gasper was finished, you'd get a wiggle on. Important people and all that jazz," she said saccharinely.

Maura lifted an eyebrow, smirking faintly while Korsak leveled a severe glare at Jane. "I do have other things to do, but none so important that I need to rush. I believe that I'll have a shot or two of your best liquor, though."

She made a point of sitting on a stool in front of the bar and arching her brow at Jane, whose jaw flexed as she ground her teeth together and banged around angrily behind the counter as she slammed a glass on the bar top and filled it with an amber alcohol. Maura smoothly swallowed it and waved her hand at the empty glass for another shot; she bit the inside of her cheek to fight back a smirk but knew Jane had seen her lips twitching merrily by the deepening scowl on her face and the near snarl on her lips. She stalked to the other end of the bar where Frost was pulling chairs off the tables and helped him silently, ignoring Maura's amused gaze boring through her until the first patrons of the evening walked down the stairs, let in by Victoria who was manning the entrance until their other employees showed up. Jane busily poured drinks and took money, occasionally finding Maura still at the bar and pouring her another shot, then a glass of wine. She left the bottle in front of her after her second glass and the crowd got heavier, spending more time mixing drinks and expertly dismissing drunken young men who were flirting with her.

Maura took a sip of her wine and met Jane's eyes over the rim, winking boldly at her and feeling exceptionally proud of the flush that stained her cheeks and throat. Jane's eyes widened before she jerked her head away and threw herself into her job. She started flirting back with the men crowding around the bar, leaning over the scarred counter a little more than necessary and flashing bright grins at their bawdy jokes. Maura's eyes narrowed at the display, but she sat determinedly on her barstool and watched the show.

Her hazel gaze locked onto a man who was shouldering through the crowd in a beeline for Jane; his bland, all-American looks, complete with dirty blonde hair and charming, confident grin made her hackles rise. She watched him smoothly sidle up to the bar and order a drink, then casually grab her hand when she slid the glass over and set the money in her palm. The way his hand lingered in hers and the direct way he stared at her made Maura's grip tighten on the stem of her wine glass, and she threw back the remaining mouthful with little consideration to the flavor that burst across her tongue.

Jane froze when he didn't let go of her hand and chewed on her lip; Maura saw her glance in her direction for a second and then she lifted her shoulders like she was going toe to toe with an enemy, pasted a bright grin on her face and leaned in toward him. She spent a few minutes talking lowly with him across the bar, then nodded slowly when he asked her something. His smile came wider as he planted himself at a small table on the wall and proceeded to watch Jane.

Maura sneered at him over the rim of her glass and threw some money on the bar, then found Korsak's eyes in the bar and waved at him. He smiled at her and glanced aside at Jane, then back at her with a worried expression. Maura jerked her head toward the kitchen and he nodded, walking to Jane while Maura slipped out the back door and paced in front of her car.

Jane came out a few minutes later with a disgruntled expression on her face and crossed her arms as she stopped several yards away from Maura. "What do you want?"

Maura snorted and perched herself on the hood of her car. "I believe you know what I want, Jane."

"No, I believe you need to level with me, poor dumb Dora that I am." Jane batted her eyelashes and smiled viciously.

"What were you doing with that sap tonight?"

"Sap? I don't know what you mean."

"Don't be obtuse, Jane," Maura bit out. "That dewdropper was looking at you like he was starving and you were a five course meal."

Jane's amused expression dropped away immediately and she took a threatening step toward Maura. "You don't know what Casey does, so shut your trap."

"Oh, Casey, is it?" Maura lifted her eyebrow imperiously and watched Jane bear down on her with all the fury of a hurricane. "And what does Casey do that has you so smitten with him this evening?"

Jane faltered briefly, eyes tightening almost imperceptibly for a moment, then she was firmly in Maura's personal space, leaning over her. "He's in the army," she said emphatically. "He's on leave before going back to Honduras."

Maura blinked and tipped her head to the side. She planted her hands on the hood and leaned back, purposefully keeping her body language loose and relaxed. "Honduras, sounds like a vacation to me."

Jane's nostrils flared and she shuffled closer until her shoes butted up against Maura's heeled feet. "He's protecting United States property down there! Keeping people safe and making sure businesses stay running!"

"Actually, Jane, what he's doing down there is terrorizing local workers into staying on plantations where they work fourteen hour days for less than minimum wage and receive no benefits," Maura snapped back. She lurched to her feet, satisfied when Jane stumbled back a few steps, and hounded her across the alley until she had Jane pinned against the wall of a building with nothing but her eyes on her.

"What Casey is doing is behaving like a chained dog, barking and snapping at passersby just because he's bigger than them and he can. You really want to step out with someone like that? Someone who probably treats a woman the same way he treats his weapon; as nothing more than a means to an end, a cheap quaff good for one thing alone?"

Jane pushed Maura hard and followed her when she stumbled back. Her voice was a low rumble, threatening and arousing all at once, and Maura felt a thrill run down her spine when nearly black eyes stared furiously at her as Jane curled her lip. "You…you don't get to say that to me."

"Why not?"

"Because you aren't anything to me! You're just a bootlegger! A heater-packing woman who thinks she can buy whatever she wants with nothing more than a coy smile and batting doe eyes! Guess what, Maura – not all of us fall for that gimmick!"

Jane's hand cut through the air as she rebutted Maura's words. Maura caught her flailing wrist and held firm when Jane yanked back, using the movement to upset her balance and push her back against the wall, trapping her other hand in the same motion. She pinned Jane's hands against the brick and leaned in until she could almost taste the anger surging from Jane's lips in impassioned breaths. The air fogged between them with each breath and the sudden silence in the alley made them aware of how Maura had pressed herself into every angle and groove of Jane's body. Her feet twined between Jane's, hips kept Jane pinned to the side of the building, and their breasts brushed with every heaving breath.

"Bootlegger though I may be, I assure you that my gimmick is used on far fewer people than you seem to be under the impression of." Jane turned her head to get farther away from Maura, stiffening as Maura's lips brushed against her jaw. "I don't bat my eyes at just any Jane; it takes a special sort of bearcat to catch my eye," she murmured.

Jane held her breath when Maura's thumb started stroking the inside of one of her wrists. "And I've seen the way you look at me, Jane. You think I don't see, but I've noticed you watching me. Like I'm some sort of puzzle to figure out, or a surprise."

Jane made a disagreeing sound but didn't move. She appeared to be a statue, washed out skin marble-smooth in the faint light from the streetlamp outside the alley and clothes still as she barely breathed. "I wonder what you'll think once you unwrap me," Maura teased, leaning in again to slide her lips over the fast-beating pulse beneath her throat. "You want me."

"Mmnno," Jane growled. "I'm not-"

She sucked in a harsh breath when teeth replaced lips and just barely grazed her skin. "Not some fag – oh, God." She gasped when Maura's teeth firmly set against her throat without sinking in, going boneless in her grasp and Maura pulled back a little.

"You're gorgeous, Jane. Surely you know that? A real live wire, unafraid to say what you think and do what you want. Why, then, are you so scared of admitting you're attracted to me?" She asked, releasing one of Jane's hands to cup her jaw and coax her face toward her. She pressed up on her toes and sank into Jane's mouth, sighing happily as she took Jane's lower lip between hers.

She reeled when Jane slapped her, backpedaling rapidly and holding her stinging cheek. Jane panted like she had just run a race, hand stuck in midair and face torn somewhere between shock and panic.

"Don't – just stay aware from me. Just – go chase yourself; I don't want to see you around here again." Jane spat at her and fled through the door, leaving Maura alone in the alley with her hands till pressed against her cheek and her lips tingling pleasantly in the cool autumn air. She bit her lip indecisively, eventually getting in her car and backing out onto the road with a backward glance before driving off.

* * *

Jane gracelessly tumbled through her door with Casey pasted against her back, his hands wandering across her hips and stubble scraping across her neck as he pressed wet kisses to her skin. She shrugged him off as she shut the door and threw the lock, stumbling back into his chest when he grabbed her hips again.

"You're a little piece of calico, aren't you?" He moved her hair aside with his hand and laid his mouth against her throat again, prompting a wave of vague arousal that floated through her brain. She twisted in his grasp and threw her arms around his neck, playing with the short hair at the back of his head. He leaned down and kissed her wetly, forcing his tongue into her mouth and cupping her jaw to hold her in place when she tried to pull back.

Jane pushed herself away from him when he wouldn't let go, putting her back to the door as she watched him with sudden wariness curling uncomfortably through her stomach. "I don't-"

"C'mon, Janie, I thought you knew what we were doing; I know what I want." He stepped into her space again and cupped her jaw in his callused hand, ducking his head to kiss her again. Jane let him graze his lips across her chin and turned her head up so he could lay hungry kisses on her neck, ignoring the faint edge of distaste now buzzing at the fringe of her consciousness. Casey boldly set his hand on her ass and she jumped, shoving him back bodily when he squeezed and she felt his erection keenly through his pants.

"Okay, I think we need to sl-"

"I think we need to move to the bed," Casey said bluntly. He palmed himself and Jane's lip curled; she took a step toward her door and clasped the knob when Casey grabbed her wrist and yanked her back into him. "Where ya going, Janie?"

His mouth nipped at her shoulder and she felt her irritation jump straight to fury. She elbowed him in the stomach and smirked when he doubled over. "Don't think I'm some easy quaff, Casey. I told you I wanted to go slow."

Casey straightened up and his previously easy going expression had darkened. His eyes glinted dangerously in the lamplight as he took a threatening step toward her. "I think you're just chewing gum, Janie. Were you just playing checkers tonight? Acting like you wanted me, wanted this," he said emphatically as he palmed his still obvious erection. "And now you've decided you don't?" His voice rumbled lowly as he advanced on Jane and she narrowed her eyes.

When he moved to grab her, she deflected his hand and pushed him back so hard he fell over the back of her sofa. "You're zozzled, so I'm going to forget you said that. But I think it's time for you to leave." She opened her door and watched warily as he got off the sofa and walked toward her.

"Don't think I'll give up just because you said no tonight, Janie."

"My name is Jane. Get out."

She watched him until he was over the threshold and slammed the door immediately, throwing the lock again and leaning against it until his angry footsteps faded away. She felt the last of her buzz fade with the adrenaline and sat heavily on the floor, leaning against the door, and put her head in her hands. A few minutes later, she sighed heavily and picked herself up, plucking at her clothes and then tearing her button down off. She growled when her arm got caught in the fabric and chucked it across the room when she finally freed herself, pulling her undershirt over her head next and blowing her hair out of her face. She let her pants fall on the floor where she stood and walked into the small bathroom off the main living area.

As she watched the tub fill with water, she scratched her stomach and slipped her bra and underwear off, then slid into the hot water with a content little sigh. She scrubbed her skin with a bar of soap and dunked her head under the water so she could wash it. A frown darkened her face as she lathered her hair, remembering how Casey had pawed at her like he owned her, even after she asked him to slow down. She scrubbed her scalp harder, trying to erase the sensation of his hands in her hair. She dunked beneath the water again and let the quiet, dull sound of water in the tub surround her. When she surfaced, she pushed her hair back out of her face and sat in the water until it cooled.

After she redressed and let the tub drain, she double checked her lock and got into bed, laying in the dark and listening to the middle-night sounds outside her window. Her mind went around and around in circles, hashing over the evening's events; the argument with Maura featured heavily in her thoughts, and she grunted as she recalled the words thrown between them.

She suddenly recalled how angry words had been replaced with touch. A flush heated her skin when she remembered the sensation of Maura's lips grazing the corner of her lip. Her grip twisted the sheets as phantom pressure against her hips pinned her to the bed, and warm breath washed over her throat before teeth settled bluntly against the skin. She squeezed her eyes shut and arched her head back, panting as the mouth dragged hotly down her neck to her sternum and sucked harshly at the skin there. Hands grabbed her wrists before she could twist her fingers through hair to direct and welcome heat brushed over the pebbling peaks of her breasts. She moaned lowly as a tongue rolled over her nipple through her sleeping shirt and shifted her hips restlessly against the restraining pressure holding them in place, wishing for something to relieve the building ache between her thighs.

She gasped as a hand suddenly began drifting aimlessly down her stomach, stopping here and there to scratch against sensitive skin or dig in to pin her in place. Finally, fingers dragged across the wet fabric of her underwear and she cried out brokenly, whimpering when they dipped beneath the edge of the fabric and slicked over her cunt. She rolled her hips against them, coaxing them to circle her clit, and bit her lip when two fingers edged up against her firmly and made light circles.

She jerked completely upright when she bit her palm to hold in the exultant cry trying to break free of her lips, eyes shooting open to peer wildly around her empty bedroom. She pulled her hand out of her underwear in a panic and stared at her glistening fingers beneath the dim light coming through her window. Her sex quivered with the sudden lack of stimulation and she nearly cried at the sensations rolling through her body like a storm, throwing herself back into her pillows with frustrated, furious tears gathering in her eyes. She pointedly laid her arms atop her covers and closed her eyes, willing away the slick arousal coating her thighs, and steadied her hammering pulse, waiting for sleep to overtake her.

* * *

"Hey, Janie, how's it – oh, boy." Frost took one look at Jane's storm-dark expression and the shadows beneath her eyes and took a large step back. "I just remembered I have – something – over there." He ran toward the back of the bar, leaving Jane to growl wordlessly at the other employee who was taking chairs off the tables. He blanched and moved to the other side of the room, eyeing Jane warily when she stalked behind the bar and started slamming bottles around angrily.

Korsak appeared while she was muttering lowly to herself and planted himself on a stool on the other side of the counter. He lifted an eyebrow as she continued grumbling and swearing to herself and refused to make eye contact. "So, how's that whole 'avoiding my feelings' thing going?"

"Stow it, old man." Jane rattled bottles together and glared up at him. "I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Of course you don't."

"- and I have a job to to, so…" She lifted her eyebrows at him, sneering when he only made himself more comfortable on the stool. "Whatever."

Korsak watched her hands tremble around the necks of the bottles as she put them on the shelves and frowned contemplatively. He caught Frost's eyes as he peeked into the room from the kitchen and nodded, smiling faintly when Frost edged out warily with a package in his hands. He set it on the bar top and fled back to the safety of the kitchen, and Korsak tapped the package silently. Jane finally met his eyes when he cleared his throat, gaze flicking down to the box.

"I received this earlier today, it's for you." He pushed it across the bar and Jane eyed it warily, not making a move to handle it. "C'mon, Janie, I want to know what it is; can't you put an old man out of his misery?"

Jane scoffed but opened the box with shaky hands. "What…"

Korsak barely avoided the impulse to spin the package around and instead watched Jane slowly lift a scarf from the box, along with a single yellow orchid. Jane's gaze bounced between the wooly, warm looking dark grey dyed scarf and the bloom perking in her hands with a baffled expression on her face that Korsak barely managed to not laugh at.

"Who?"

"Some post boy dropped it off this morning, said it was from a Miss Selsi, for you."

Jane mouthed the name and her brow furrowed, then recognition dawned bright in her eyes. "Maura?"

"I would assume so."

Jane set the gifts down like they had burned her, then slowly, reverently palmed the scarf as her eyes glossed over the flower again. "Why would she do that?"

Jane's voice was small and lost, and Korsak felt a surge of protective sympathy wash over him. He covered her hand on the scarf and waited for her eyes to meet his. "Not to stick my nose into anything between you, but maybe she feels bad? You two were going at it like cats with their backs up the other night…maybe it's an apology."

Jane's breath caught, the shadows beneath her eyes suddenly stark against her blanched skin. She exhaled shakily and carefully set the gifts back in the box, then disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes. She came back out, composed and started setting glasses out like nothing had happened, and their first customers came down the stairs not long after. Jane caught Frost's eyes partway through the night and she smiled apologetically at him. He smiled broadly, miming a hug which she laughed at.

She was distracted as Victoria squealed when a drunk man smacked her ass. Her eyes darkened dangerously as she pulled Victoria back and pushed him roughly, sending him sprawling to the floor. Two big men suddenly appeared and grabbed him, bodily lifting him to his feet. "Give him the bum's rush, fellas. Quietly, if you mind." They nodded and, a few minutes later, returned from the kitchen and resumed their quiet places on the walls of the speakeasy.

Jane's eyes were arrested by movement not long after, catching dark eyes briefly through the press of people at the bar. She watched Kent take a table in the corner and sip at a glass, occasionally meeting her eyes and, more frequently, watching the various people coming down the stairs with eagle eyes. His smiling eyes were shrewd and calculating as they studied the room at large, his boyish features belaying the subtle air of danger that surrounded him, and Jane made a show of turning her back to him as she took some glasses off the wall. When she turned back, he was suddenly standing front and center at the bar and staring at her intently.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't a lad want to have a drink?" Jane snorted and a smile broke across his scruffy face. "Just keeping an eye on the premises, Jane. My intention are pure, I assure you." His accent tickled her eardrums pleasantly and his sincere laughter made her lips tip up into a smile as he toasted her and took a drink.

"Janie!"

Jane turned, her smile morphing into a frown when Casey pushed through the crowd to the bar and waved her down. "What are you doing here, Casey?" She set a shot in front of him, watching as he downed it and set the shotglass down.

"I'm just here for the view, and the bootleg, of course!" He leered at her while she poured another shot and then escaped to the other end of the bar, his eyes following her through the remainder of the night.

Jane only barely managed to avoid him grabbing her hand to drag her outside after the speakeasy shut down, undeniably grateful when Frost called her name and offered to walk her home.

"Coming!" She pulled back from him with an insincere smile and fled to where Frost was waiting on the corner with a concerned look floating in his eyes.

"Hey, isn't that the soldier boy from last night?"

"Yeah. He doesn't understand the word no, apparently." Jane groused darkly, unaware of the way Frost's hands clenched into fists.

"Did he – did that man lay his han-"

"Oh, God, no. Shit, no, nothing happened, Frost. He was a pig, sure, but I told him where to stick his intentions and kicked him out before anything happened." Jane emphatically waved her hands and then flushed when she realized what she had intimated had happened. "It's alright, I can handle myself."

"I'm still allowed to worry, Janie," he said quietly. "You're important to me; I'm going to worry when strange men start lurking for no apparent reason." He threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close to his side, sharing heat and enjoying the quiet companionship between them. "By the way, that's a really nice scarf you've got on. Don't think I've seen it before now."

His voice was overly innocent and Jane looked up at him sharply, rolling her eyes at the wide eyed look he shot her. She shoved his shoulder and laughed when he stumbled into the street. "Really, Janie, it's a swell scarf, but where'd you get it?"

"It's none of your business, so lay off."

Frost held up his hands placatingly. "Fine, alright. Let me walk you home, at least?"

Jane sighed but stopped for him to catch up and they strode quietly down the sidewalk, dodging the occasional late walker on the sidewalk until they were standing outside Jane's apartment building.

"You're alright?" Frost watched her with concern in his eyes and Jane smiled faintly. She ducked her nose into the wool scarf, humming agreeably.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm not some wilting flower, Frost."

"I know." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of her coat. "Have a good night, Janie."

"Bye, Frost."

* * *

Definitions:

Breezer - soft top car

Fag/gasper - cigarette

Indian hop - marijuana

Get a wiggle on - get going

Dumb Dora - unintelligent female

Sap - fool, idiot

Dewdropper - young man with no job who sleeps all day

Quaff - whore, prostitute

Heater packing - carrying a weapon

Live wire - precocious person

Go chase yourself - get out of here

Piece of calico - attractive female

Chewing gum - double talk; with the current context, saying one thing but meaning another; talking out of both sides of one's mouth

Playing checkers - moving amongst seats looking for sexual partners

Zozzled - drunk

Bum's rush - the forceful ejection from an establishment

Other notes:

The orchid is an exotic bloom, representing luxury, beauty, strength, integrity nd friendship. The color yellow represents apologies, friendship, nd new beginnings. The single bloom represents new beginnings.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back lol I keep saying it, and I will follow through at some point, but I promise my updates will get more regular at some point. To those who don't sign in and review, here are my replies.

Guest - I'm glad you like how I write Jane and Maura. I put a lot of effort into research and authenticity when it comes to these sort of stories, and I'm stoked you can enjoy it! I love taking them out of their home world but trying to get them to still fit into their roles somehow.

Riviera - here's another chapter!

Rain - I'm glad you liked it

HBO 123 - hardly brilliant, but Kim glad you like it :)

 **There's a question at the end of this chapter for you guys, don't skip it or you'll miss an opportunity for a one shot of your choice.**

Read on!

* * *

"No, absolutely not. I'm not futzing around for some dewdropper just because _you-_ "

"Jane Clementine, you will watch your language with me! Don't think you're too old for me to bend over my knee!" Angela stared hard at Jane in full 'mom mode,' hands on hips, jaw clenched, face set stubbornly – much the same as Jane's was, with the same mulish expression on her face.

Jane growled and crossed her arms. "Why did you do this to me?"

"Why did I care? Why did I want to see my only daughter happy? Why did I want to know she would be taken care of when I'm gone?" Angela's voice gradually rose and her accent became heavier with each pointed word. She jabbed her finger at Jane's chest as she stood toe to toe with her and stared up into her face. "Why can't you do this one thing for me, eh? You need someone to take care of you, Janie; you aren't always going to be a young, capable girl. Just this one thing for me, please."

Angela's voice was soft and pleading at the end of her rant, eyes filled with want, and Jane found her willful stubbornness breaking beneath the entreating expression. " _Fine!_ Fine, geez, don't pull that with me! Laying the guilt on a little thick, aren't you?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Angela smiled mirthfully and swatted Jane's hip with her towel. "Dinner is at four this afternoon, wear something _nice._ "

Jane's jaw dropped when Angela dismissed her and she stalked out the door, slamming it in her wake as she took the stairs two at a time and jogged back out onto the sidewalk. She stared up at the building for a second and cursed under her breath, then started meandering back toward her block, pausing when she passed by a closed storefront. The glass windows were smashed and the door hung crookedly from its broken hinges, groaning pathetically in the afternoon breeze. Across the wooden door, someone had painted _Leave America Wops_ and _KKK_ , and a half-burnt cross was laid on the stoop amongst soapy ashes. She sneered and scoffed at the display and kept walking, eyes occasionally scanning other shops for signs of vandalism.

By the time she walked into the hallway of her apartment building, she was fighting a tension headache and contemplated skipping out on dinner, but groaned when she realized how much more of a headache she would have from dealing with the fallout of that decision, so she reluctantly started digging through her wardrobe and tossed a few articles of clothing on her bed. She tried on two dresses and yanked the third off in disgust, whipping it toward a corner of her room, then pursed her lips at the fourth and sighed in resignation as she pulled it over her head. She stared at herself critically in the mirror and pulled her lips to one side contemplatively before nodding at her reflection and dug for some jewelry and a jacket to wear over the dress. She pulled a purse out of the depths of her wardrobe and stuffed her wallet, some cash, and her keys into it, then toed on some short heels and locked her door when she left.

She made the walk back to Angela's in short order and had just taken her coat off when someone knocked and Angela excitedly opened it to the Talucci's. Jane pasted a smile on her lips and politely accepted the handshake from Giovanni and Giorgio, and Carla's painted buss to her cheek, which she discreetly wiped at after she turned her back. They all sat at the table and made quiet conversation as dinner was served, and Jane was silently praying for everyone to keep their mouths full to sustain the peaceful lull.

She sighed forlornly when Angela set her silverware down and glanced pointedly at Jane before turning to Giovanni and Giorgio. "So, Carla, how's your daughter's newest doing?"

"Oh, she's just precious! She just started focusing on us in the last week, and her eyes are always looking at everything so curiously, it's adorable!"

Carla rambled on excitedly as Giovanni rolled his eyes good naturedly and visibly puffed up. "It's just good genes, Carla. She's got the Talucci tenacity, there's no question."

Angela cooed and laid her hand on the table. "Oh, I'm so happy for you; I wish my kids would give me grandbabies, but, you know…Frankie's always down at the docks, I swear he'd grow fins and gills if he could."

"Your other boy went missing, didn't he?" Giovanni interjected with a frown. "A shame, he's a good looking lad, quite the ladies man, I bet."

Angela's face fell and Jane clenched her jaw. "My Tommy disappeared nearly six months ago – I wish I knew what happened."

Her jaw trembled and Giovanni scoffed. "I'll tell you what happened; the boy didn't have his father around, no strong male figure to show him how to be a man's man." He thumped his chest and Jane's lip curled. "This generation," he said with a voice full of derision, "full of nothing but fairies and women with foolish ideas in their heads. When I was younger, men were men and women knew their place. There was none of this business of women working or men deciding they…" Giovanni trailed off with an exasperated scoff and waved his hand. "I raised my boy right, and I know all your kids need is a male figure to show them how to behave. Find a man for your girl to marry and-"

"And _what?_ " Jane pushed away from the table so forcefully her chair fell over backwards and all of the dishes on the tabletop shifted dangerously. "Push out a few babies like a _good wife?_ Stay in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant with dinner ready on the table when my husband walks through the door, smile on my face and eyes lowered like some _fucking_ sap?"

"Janie!"

"No! I've held my tongue long enough; you need to hear something, _sir_ , so open those ears good and wide." She planted her palms on the table and leaned across it furiously. Her eyes glittered like black diamonds as she snarled in rage at Giovanni. "I am _not_ chattel to be sold to the highest bidder, I will _never_ just bow to someone who thinks they're better than me because of what's between their legs, and if _you think_ that's all that matters, then let me tell you something; _you,_ sir, can go chase yourself down those stairs and onto the fucking street for all I care right now."

Jane was breathing heavily by the time she stopped speaking and stared straight into Giovanni's eyes as he sat, wide eyed and silent, across from her. She felt Angela set her hand on her arm and shook it off angrily. "You know what? I've just remembered I have somewhere to be. Have a _wonderful_ night, don't let the door hit you in the ass when you leave."

* * *

Jane left in an irate sweep of skirts and pulled her coat and purse off the rack as she slammed the door behind her. She stomped down the stairs and stalked down the street, stewing silently as she let her feet take her where they wanted to. By the time she shook off her enraged musings and looked around, she realized she had walked far enough to be a couple blocks away from the bar and let her pace slow. She meandered toward the Causeway and let herself into the shop that hid the speakeasy, nodding at the man behind the counter as she slipped into the booth and let herself into the bar. She walked down the stairs and wove around the tables toward the bar, pouring a drink from beneath the bar and leaving the glass on the counter.

Jane ran her palm across the veneer of the piano in the corner and sat on the stool in front of the ivory keys. She splayed her hands across the face of it, gently pressing on the keys, and listened to the chord she struck. Out of habit, her fingers began dancing across the keys, drawing a melancholic sound from the strings. It slowly transitioned to something more jazzy, although still subdued, and Jane let her thoughts wander again as she played. She leaned into the motions and closed her eyes, letting the sound and feeling sweep her away, hair falling over her face as her fingers tripped over keys and coaxed a beautiful, haunting melody from the piano. She only stopped once her fingers began cramping up, letting the sound die naturally, and stared at the keys with a faraway look in her eyes.

She jumped in fright when a quiet clapping broke the calm silence and whipped around. Korsak stood in the doorway of the kitchen with a broad smile on his face and approached when she let out a breath. "That was beautiful, Janie." He sat down on the stool next to her and let out a surprised sound when she laid her head on his shoulder. "What's going on, kiddo?"

"Can I just…just hold me, old man?" Jane turned her head into his shoulder, smelled his comforting scent and shut her eyes, letting the last of the tension bleed out of her. Korsak wrapped his arm around her waist and hummed agreeably; their breaths were the only sound in the speakeasy for some time until Jane sat up with a deep sigh and roughly carded her fingers through her curls. "Thanks."

"You know you can bend my ear if you need it," Korsak offered.

"I'm fine. I just…might have accidently stepped in it? Like, up to the knee?" Korsak blinked at her and Jane winced. "I may have yelled at the Talucci's at dinner this afternoon?"

"Jane…"

"It wasn't my fault!" She said emphatically. "Giovanni was being a misogynist bastard and I just…" She made a helpless noise and spread her arms wide.

Korsak sighed and hugged her, cupping the back of her head. "Okay, Janie. I'm not excusing what you did," he said sternly, "but…I suppose concessions can be made. That's why you're wearing your glad rags, eh? I thought maybe you had a hot date? Going hoofing later on?"

Jane scoffed. "Yeah, no. I don't dance, old man."

Korsak chuckled as he stood and walked toward the kitchen again. "You'll find that will change when you meet someone, Janie."

"There's a higher chance of hell freezing over!"

Jane growled irately as she filled drink orders, resolutely ignoring the hand waving from down the bar. She slammed the glasses down on the countertop and grit her teeth when she heard her name over the low murmur of voices. "Janie! Eh, what's it take to get some skee around here?"

She waved off Victoria's apologetic glance and sighed as she walked over to Casey, who was waving his empty tumbler around with a drunken, sloppy grin on his face. "Another?" She asked politely, reaching for the glass.

He held it just out of reach, blatantly giving her outfit the once over and leering at the fitted dress. "I'll take you, after hours," he said, giving what he obviously thought was a charming smile and wink as he finally handed her the tumbler.

Jane snatched it and poured his drink, stalking away when he tried to tuck his money into her hand and hold it. "I'll put it on your tab," she growled, picking up a bottle of vodka for some rowdy dandies at the other end of the bar. She slowly resettled, watching Casey nurse his glass from her periphery as she refilled drinks and took money.

By the time a lull hit, Jane's feet pinched and ached in her kitten heels and she let one dangle from her toes as she stretched her ankle and the arch of her foot. She looked up when a paper wrapped package was pushed into her line of sight and stared into familiar brown eyes set into sloped eyes, above a serious, rounded face.

"Miss Chang."

Susie pushed the package closer and tapped the top of it with her index finger. "Miss Isles sends her regards. She thought you may enjoy this."

"What is it?"

Susie just lifted her eyebrow and planted herself at the bar, taking a glass from behind it and filling it with whiskey. Jane pursed her lips, picking absently at the tape holding the package shut, and sighed as she gently pulled it open. A carefully stenciled box laid inside, scribed with _CC, Paris, France_ , and Jane's breath rushed out as she took the top off. A small glass vial of perfume laid inside, nestled amongst a dark red leather fabric that Jane reverently pulled out and unfolded. Nearly knee length, the rich, blood red leather jacket had large, dark buttons and featured likewise dark cuffs, collar and belt, and was lined with wool. Jane thumbed the supple material with something like awe on her face, then stared at the small bottle of _Chanel No. 5_ that laid in the box. She met Susie's eyes over the jacket still in her hands and tried to offer the jacket to her, but was waved off. "No returns, Miss Rizzoli. Boss's orders."

"I – I don't…what am I – _God_." Jane pulled the jacket against her chest and then tucked it back into the box with the perfume and put all of it behind the bar.

She went out pouring drinks absently, unaware of the newly appreciative gazes and mildly propositional words thrown at her. Neither did she notice when Susie started giving the men crowding Jane dangerous, dark looks and subtly flashed her weapon at them as she casually unbuttoned her coat.

At the end of the night, Jane wiped down the bar as the others began sweeping and setting chairs atop tables. Jane startled when Casey grabbed her arm, unaware that he had stayed the entire evening, and glared up at him with vitriol.

"Let me go."

"Aw, don't be like that, Bunny."

" _Don't_ call me that," she sneered, ripping her arm out of his grasp. She reached for the box she had stashed behind the bar and Casey snatched it out of her hands, tearing it open and whistling with a mixture of awe and jealousy in his eyes.

"What mook gave you this? You offer them a view of your bubs? Give some Jigaboo a check or offer to neck?" He sneered nastily, swaying slightly on his feet, and Jane scoffed.

"You're spifflicated, Casey. Give it back to me."

Casey pulled the box closer to him when Jane reached for it and leered. "You gonna give me a show for it? Bet I can give you better," he said, gesturing at his pants with his free hand.

Jane felt her ire grow and a headache bloom behind her temple, surprised when Casey suddenly bent double and the air escaped his lungs in a loud _whoof_. Jane yanked the box out of his hand and stalked away, offering a thankful look at Susie as she grabbed Casey by his collar and pulled him toward the stairs. She walked out the back into the alley and felt her hair rise at the suddenly cool nip on the air. Looking around surreptitiously, she pulled the long jacket out and shrugged it on, feeling warmer immediately as she left the perfume in the box and tucked it beneath her arm to begin the walk home.

Jane tumbled into her apartment half an hour later, nose and ears pink with cold and hands shoved warmly into the pockets of her jacket. She laid it carefully over the back of a chair and set the box on the table, pausing to contemplatively finger a petal on the orchid in a vase on the table. She stared at the dark grey scarf hanging on a hook by the door and bit her lip, then shook her head and pulled her clothes off as she walked to her bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes that led to her bed as she fell into it and into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Thursday morning came and went with Jane cleaning her apartment anxiously, sweeping and dusting and taking food out of her fridge to make for dinner. She groaned when someone knocked around one in the afternoon, figuring it was Angela come to yell at her for her behavior at the dinner the previous day. She was surprised to find a strange woman on the other side of the door, hair the color of rich mahogany tumbling over a green scarf and intense grey eyes studying her above smiling lips the color of blood.

"Hello, chicken," she said, rich Irish brogue tickling Jane's ears.

"Uhm…hi?"

Jane stood firmly in her doorway, head tilted at the woman, who seemed content to stare at her until Jane shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I'm Siobhán, dear. Maura's told me so much about you." Jane's mouth gaped and Siobhán took the hand hanging limply at her side to shake. "Now, let's not give the neighbors a show, eh? Tell me, Jane, what is your intention with Maura?"

She brushed by Jane in a flurry of scarf tails and clean hair, bustling around her kitchen as Jane blinked at the suddenly empty hallway and shut her door with a sigh. She rested her forehead against the wood, thumping it gently once, twice, a third time while muttering under her breath the whole time, and stiffened when Siobhan's hand landed on her back.

"Don't go giving yourself a concussion, dear. Come, sit, I've made some tea."

Jane sat at her table, taking in the kettle whistling on the stovetop and the cups Siobhán had managed to locate, then stared at her back as she brought the cups of steaming tea to the table and sat across from Jane. She dusted her fingers across the collar of the long jacket Jane had slung over the back of a chair, then looked at the orchid on the table with unnerving intensity. Her grey eyes next found Jane's, seeming to stare through her and freezing her in place. "Drink up, chicken. Can't have you acting like this the rest of the day, we've got to get to the drum in…six hours. Plenty of time to get to know each other." She sat more comfortably in the chair and lifted her cup to her lips, watching Jane silently once more.

Jane blinked at the cup before her and opened her mouth a few times before anything remotely resembling actual words came out. "You – who are…you know Maura?"

"Raised the girl, didn't I? Right from the time her mother handed her off to Paddy, barely a month old and tiny as anything. Hair almost white, and the most inquisitive eyes." Siobhán sighed wistfully as she took another sip of her tea, eyes far away. "I brought that girl up right next to mine; God, Maura and Sarah were thick as thieves when they were little. Still are, though they don't see each other often anymore. The _trouble_ they get into…"

She clicked her tongue and shook her head, meeting Jane's eyes. "Did you ever hear about an…incident on Boston University's campus involving two young women on horses?"

Jane snorted into the cup she had just lifted to her lips, slopping some over the rim. "Who hasn't? Two young skirts rode _naked_ across campus to protest something. They didn't get caught, though I don't have a clue in hell how not."

Siobhán smiled crookedly and laughed. "My girls decided that the budget cuts on the science and liberal arts departments were unjust and…let's say, made a point."

" _Maura?_ "

"Oh yes," Siobhán nodded sagely. "My fiery little hellraisers, both of them. Those girls got into trouble together as soon as they could conceive of the idea, and it hasn't ever stopped."

They each drank from their cups, thinking to themselves until Siobhán shook her head and set her empty cup down. She leaned across the table and caught Jane's eyes. "You never did answer my question, though."

"Which one?" Jane retorted nervously.

"What are your intentions with Maura?"

"My – intentions? I don't have any!"

Siobhán lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "Don't try and send me on a trip for biscuits, chicken. That girl has done nothing but talk about you since you met, she's sending you gifts for God's sake!"

"I don't know _why!_ Ask her!"

"Why have you kept them, then?"

"I – I can't – Susie said – what-"

"If you'd seriously wanted to return them, Miss Chang and Mister Drake would have taken them," Siobhán said. "Maura would not force anything upon you. So, I ask you again, why have you kept her gifts to you?"

Jane spread her hands on the table and looked at the jacket on the chair back, the orchid on the table, the box of Chanel pushed off to the side, and the scarf hanging by the door. "I…thought she was apologizing to me," she said quietly, uncertainly.

Siobhán's eyes softened as she reached across the table to take Jane's hand in hers. "Aye, it is that. But she's _courting_ you, too, dear. She's only sent gifts out to anyone twice before in her short life. You make the third time."

She squeezed Jane's limp hand. "I've never seen her so confounded by someone, Jane. You infuriate her, it's true – I had never seen her in such a temper before the night you two met," she said with laughter in her voice. "But I've never seen her quite so besotted, either. I knew I had to meet you."

Jane shut her eyes and squeezed Siobhán's hand, once, then again. "I don't know – I haven't…but-"

"Have you ever been in love, dear?"

Jane stared at Siobhán with wide eyes and shook her head. "It's a feeling like, like you're out of control. Like you're in one of those fancy new breezers that speed down the road and don't have any brakes. Or the feeling you get just before moving somewhere different. Fear, excitement, adrenaline – it's intoxicating and fulfilling and _grand_."

Jane thought about the way she had felt when she fought with Maura – powerful, angry, yes, but intrigued by the gleam in hazel eyes. The way her breath rushed out when Maura shoved her against the brick wall and their bodies seemed to melt together as they went toe to toe.

Full lips brushing hers for an instant.

"She – I mean _we-_ "

"It can be scary," Siobhán said softly, smiling at Jane. "It's not worth it if it doesn't make your stomach twist like a dervish though, if you don't feel like you need to throw up but like you'll die if you don't see them again. If your palms sweat whenever you see them, everything else goes a little fuzzy around the edges…passion and lust kindles it, but love – that's what drives us."

Siobhán studied Jane's eyes for a long moment, appearing satisfied by the emotions lurking within when she nodded and sat back. "Now, chicken, tell me about yourself."

Jane's eyes wandered through the evening at the speakeasy, continually glancing toward the far end of the bar where Siobhán had planted herself with a tumbler full of dark amber liquor that she slowly nursed. Her grey eyes seemed to be everywhere, tracing the paths of the waiters that bustled between the tables, watching the patrons grow more rowdy as the evening progressed, and studying Jane and Victoria as they worked behind the bar. Jane felt a thrill any time her eyes caught Siobhan's, but she slowly settled back into her normal routine, smiling politely and fending off drunken leers and words with the ease that experience leant her.

She turned with a couple glasses full in her hands and barely spared a thought when someone grabbed her arm, shaking them off to set the glasses on the bar top. "What can I-"

Her eyes finally turned to the man who had grabbed her and Jane froze when she realized it was Casey, eyes just a little bloodshot and cocksure grin planted firmly on his lips. "Hey, Janie."

"Don't call me that."

Jane bustled to the other end of the bar, growling as she realized Casey was doggedly pushing through the thick crowd to stay close to her. "Hey, bunny, where are you going? I thought we were going to talk tonight."

"Go _away_ , Casey." Jane planted her palms flat on the counter, narrowing her eyes pointedly at Casey when he only smiled wider and tried to grab her hand. She jerked back with a sneer on her lips, ignoring his put upon expression. "I told you I wasn't interested, or didn't you hear me the first time?"

"Aw, come on, don't be like that, Bun-"

"I swear to _God_ , if you finish that sentence, I'm going to punch your lights out."

"Is there a problem here?"

Both Casey's and Jane's attention were diverted to Siobhán, who stood behind them with an easy smile on her face, though her eyes were locked on Casey with intent. "Just talking to my girl, ma'am."

"That's _it, I'm goi-_ "

Jane leapt at Casey over the bar, barely held back by Siobhán as she smoothly stepped between them. "How about you and I take a walk, young man?" She took Casey's arm in an iron grip and steered him toward the back, tossing a wink over her shoulder at Jane. Jane stared after them for a long moment, her rage drifting away with the absence of her target, and took a couple deep breaths to center herself before returning to her duties, barely noticing when Siobhán walked back across the bar and planted herself back in her chair.

By the end of the night, Jane's feet were aching and she gratefully toed off her kitten heels as Frost and a couple others started putting chairs up. She was putting the bottles beneath the bar when someone knocked on the wood, dragging her attention from the murky bottles. Siobhán stood with a box beneath her arm and Jane rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, another gift from Maura?"

"Indeed, chicken. Are you ready?"

"For?"

"Me to walk you home."

" _Excuse_ me?"

"Well, I can't just let you walk by yourself, especially after I had such an _informative_ talk with that young soldier. Come, I'll take you back to your little flat, and leave this with you then." Siobhán took Jane's arm, barely waiting for her to pull her jacket on before she was yanking her out the door and leading her down the sidewalk.

The quiet, though awkward, was peaceful, and they reached Jane's door soon after. They idled in the hallway, Jane avoiding the sly grey eyes that were studying her and toying with her key in her pocket. "Now, Maura didn't tell me anything, and it's truly none of my business, but I've never seen Maura behave like this with anyone before. She's certainly made her share of mistakes with people, but she's always simply moved on. So there's something special about you, that she's gone to so much trouble to get back into your good graces." Siobhán set the package into Jane's limp grip and pursed her lips a little. "Just think about it, chicken. Have a good night."

Without another word, she left, and Jane watched her disappear down the stairs before unlocking her door and walking into her apartment. She sighed as her shoes came off and sat at the table, shrugging her jacket off so it pooled between her back and the chair, and stared at the wrapped package before her warily. With a sigh that seemed to come from the tips of her toes, she pulled the top off the gift.

* * *

Jane poured shots in a row, spilling drops of bathtub rum over the rims of the glasses, and shuffled them over to the patrons, pulling more shot glasses from beneath the counter to refill them immediately as they were tossed back. The speakeasy was full from wall to wall, the Friday night crowd loud and rowdy as usual, though no one worried about being busted by a hard nosed Bull when a nearby table was full of detectives and off duty cops. Jane smiled genially at the raucous crowd and filled glasses to the brim to be passed down while Victoria worked the other end of the bar.

Frost caught her eye on his way to a table and winked, doing a quick salute with his free hand as he balanced a tray of food on his shoulder, and Jane crossed her eyes at him playfully. Someone was playing a show tune on the piano in the corner and a few couples danced energetically to the upbeat music while others played cards at a few tables on the wall. Jane leaned down and dug into the pocket of the red leather jacket she had stuffed beneath the bar, pulling a Hershey Kiss out of the pocket with a happy sound. She unwrapped the tin foil and pulled the little white flag away from the chocolate with a flourish before popping it in her mouth, humming as the candy started melting on her tongue.

"Hey, can a soldier get a kiss from a tight little Jane?"

The candy soured on her tongue when Jane recognized Casey's voice and she glared at him with a vicious sneer curling the edge of her lip. "Go play in traffic, you futzing sap," she said bluntly.

Casey blinked, and then laughed riotously, wiping the corners of his eyes after he got himself under control. "Oh, man, you wound me, Janie! Here I am, this nice fella come to see you tonight, and that's the reception I get?" He smiled at her winsomely, though it fell a little flat when Jane only crossed her arms with a dark look in her eyes. "Aw, c'mon, doll, I'm shipping out this weekend, can't you just-"

"No, I _can't just_." Jane rolled the Kiss into her cheek and scowled. "You need to leave."

Casey chuckled, barely audible over the din in the speakeasy, but his hand clenched around his drink and Jane lifted her chin stubbornly. He leaned over the bar and took her hand, holding tightly even when she yanked, and she reared back with her free hand balled into a fist when someone grabbed Casey's shoulder.

Jane looked at the long, elegant fingers curled over the shoulder of his heavy, careworn jacket and felt a sense of relief even as her stomach twisted anxiously. "I believe she told you to leave."

"And who the hell do you think you are, eh?"

"Just a concerned friend." Maura smiled darkly at Casey and tightened her grip.

He winced and trembled as pressure was put on him, releasing Jane's hand with twitching fingers and lowering his shoulder in an effort to reduce the shooting pains crawling up and down his arm. "Alright, _alright_ , you made your point!"

"I don't believe I have, mister. Why don't you and I go have an _enlightening_ chat out back? Come along." Keeping a firm grip on his shoulder, Maura frog marched Casey through the kitchen doors, leaving Jane staring with wide eyes as her Kiss melted on her tongue. She dragged a hand down her face and groaned, catching Korsak's eyes when he looked over in concern. She jerked a thumb toward the back door and he nodded, watching her easily maneuver through the crowd until she disappeared.

Jane slipped out the back door, glancing around the dimly lit alley until she found Casey pushed up against the wall closer to the shadows with Maura's hand flat on his chest, pinning him in place. She couldn't hear what was being said, but the low, dangerous sound of Maura's voice made her heartbeat quicken, and she snuck closer. A flash of hazel eyes, grey in the lack of light, told her Maura had noticed her, but she didn't give any other indication as she continued to speak to the soldier pressed into the brick wall.

"I don't _care_ what Miss Rizzoli said at the beginning of the week; no _means_ no."

"I've got needs, you damn vamp. What's a fella to do when some tight little bunny comes on to him and then decides she doesn't want to give a little nookie?" Casey groaned when Maura pressed harder on his chest and grabbed her wrist.

"I don't know about you, but when I don't have a _bunny_ to service me, I tend to use my own two mitts, if you catch my drift."

Jane snorted at the comment and Casey's head whipped over to her. His snarl melted into an amiable smile, even with Maura in front of him, and he wiggled his eyebrows. "C'mon, Janie, tell this overeager high hat that we were just fine before she came along like some fire extinguisher."

"I'm rather enjoying watching her dress you down, actually. This is better than paying to see the Greatest Show on Earth."

Jane crossed her arms to ward off the chill in the air while Maura smirked and caught Casey's attention again. "Did that get through your unusually thick skull? The lady doesn't want your attentions, so I suggest you vacate the premises and don't come back."

"Or what?"

Maura very casually flashed the pistol hidden beneath her jacket. "I assure you, I have means to take care of you."

"That's a load of bushwa! What's a skirt like you doing packing heat, anyway?"

Maura smirked and ignored him, taking the collar of his jacket to pull him away from the wall. "Don't take any wooden nickels, it isn't worth the trouble I'll give you. Now, get home before curfew and you get in trouble." Maura waved at him insouciantly, watching as he straightened his jacket collar and shrugged his shoulders with ease.

"Whatever, you dumb bitch. You can't always be here to pinch me."

"I thought you were leaving this weekend? Unless you want to be court marshaled for being AWOL, and have that mark on your service record, of course."

Casey stared at her with anger flickering in his eyes, then grunted and turned away. "So's your old man," he muttered as he walked away, leaving the alley and disappearing around the corner onto the street.

They waited several protracted seconds until the last of the tension bled out of the shadowed alley, and Maura sighed. Her shoulders dropped, her face lost its hard edges, and Jane watched her re-button her jacket. "We should get back inside, Miss Rizzoli, before you catch your death of cold. It looks like snow tonight."

Jane snorted but let Maura lead her back into the speakeasy, stopping when her hand landed on her arm. Maura looked uncharacteristically demure, eyes lowered and posture withdrawn as she glanced up at Jane through her eyelashes. "I know we haven't exactly gotten off to the best start, but…would you be amenable to going out with me tomorrow night?"

"I – what?"

"Only if you want to, of course. I wouldn't presume to tell you anything, Miss Rizzoli."

"Jane." Maura's head jerked up, eyes lit with a feeling that made Jane's chest swell and her palms sweat. "Aw, don't give me that look. You've been leaving these…gifts for me all week. Lord knows why, considering I've been a right ass to you, but – the least I can do is let you take me out."

Jane offered a shy smile that Maura mirrored brightly, taking her hand excitedly. "That's just _nifty_ , Jane! I can pick you up at yours tomorrow at seven? We can get dinner somewhere, maybe go hoofing later?"

"I – how do you know where I live?" Jane's face twisted and she rolled her eyes. "Nevermind. Siobhán?"

Maura looked a little sheepish, nodding and biting her lip. "I may have asked her to let me know where you lived."

"How in the world did _she_ figure it out?"

"I've learned it's best not to question her ways; Siobhán is – highly capable at getting information."

"You mean like the nugget she dropped about a certain someone riding _nude_ across campus to protest budget cuts?"

Maura flushed crimson, though she threw her hair back and lifted her chin haughtily. "My talents are many and varied," she said with a certain amount of innuendo lacing her tone. "Maybe you'll get a front row seat to that, Jane."

Jane swallowed at the loaded look Maura threw her and took a deep breath. "Maybe I will."

* * *

Vocabulary

Wop - slur for Italians, among others

Hoofing - dancing

Skee - scotch whiskey

Mook - average person

Bubs - breasts

'Give some Jigaboo a check or offer to neck?' - asking if jane offered to make out with a black person or have sex with him in exchange for the gifts

Spifflicated - drunk

Drum - speakeasy

Trip for biscuits - wild goose chase

Bull - cop

Tight little Jane - pretty woman

Go play in traffic, you futzing sap - get out of here, you fucking idiot

Vamp - woman who seduces men

Nookie - sex

High hat - snob

Fire extinguisher - chaperone, as on a date

Bushwa - bullshit

Dont take any wooden nickels - don't do anything stupid. Used as warning in current context

Pinch - arrest

So's your old man - reply of irritation, used as an acknowledgment in this context

Nifty - great

As a side note, The Greatest Show on Earth Jane refers to is the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which ran until 2017.

 **Also, if anyone can name where I stole Siobhán from, I will give them a virtual cookie and write them a one shot oftheir choice. Hint: it's from a Canadian TV show.**

Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, y'all... *peeks over table* Long time no see? I, ah, got busy? Real Life sucks, that's all I've got to say. I decided to finish writing this story completely before posting anything more, so it is all done, at least! I'll be posting every week, maybe every three or four days if I can remember that. Regardless, I'm super duper sorry for the extended wait. I hope you enjoy this anyway, and don't be afraid to tell st me for disappearing in ya, I can take it :)

Happy Day - long awaited, here you go!

Richie - hope this doesn't disappoint!

Str5ire - I've never actually seen Lodt Girl xD

Read on!

* * *

Jane took a slow, shuddering breath as she stared at her image in the mirror. She played with the small earrings in her lobe as she studied her complexion, taking in the flush high on her cheeks and the shine in her dark eyes. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection and turned away from it with a flourish, standing in front of her wardrobe with a hand on her hip and a contemplative look on her face. She sifted through her pants and buttons downs, grimacing at the few dresses that were hanging at the end of the line of clothes and grunted in frustration.

A knock interrupted her muttering and grumping and she glared at the door in irritation as she stalked toward it. She yanked a button down over her shoulders and pushed a few buttons through their holes before she jerked the door open and blinked at the unexpected appearance of Susie, who was standing in the hallway with a garment over her shoulder and a nonplussed expression on her face. "I – here." She shoved the bag into Jane's arms and turned on her heel, muttering to herself as she walked away.

"Thanks?"

"Just…put some clothes on!" Susie groaned as she disappeared down the stairwell and Jane glanced down at her bare legs and the hint of cleavage visible between the folds of fabric and shrugged, shutting her door and staring askance at the garment bag.

She opened it in her bedroom and stared at the plum evening gown with wide eyes. The bodice of the dress was stitched with subtle floral designs that almost blended into the color and, separated by a narrow black belt, the long skirt likewise covered with delicate designs that drifted toward one side of the hem. The airy skirt was double layered, the deep plum underskirt and stitched designs overlaid with a sheer black fabric that felt like silk when Jane plucked at it with her fingers. She reverently lifted it out of the bag and held it up to her frame, posing in front of her mirror and imagining how it would cling to her curves.

With a deep breath, she laid it over the back of her chair and unbuttoned her shirt, dropping it carelessly to the floor and unbuttoning the small buttons that ran up the front of the dress. As she shimmied into it, she realized that, though the front of the dress was rather conservative and barely even revealed her collarbones, the back of it was cut much lower and only covered with a sheer fabric that showed off most of her back, down to the dimples that flashed at her from just above the curve of her backside. She smoothed down the dress and regarded herself critically in the mirror, studying the way the dress followed the curve of her waist and the disarmingly demure neckline and the wide material that covered her shoulders and little else. She turned around and twisted her neck to stare at her back, bare but for the sheer material stitched to the plum colored fabric, the way her muscles rolled and shifted as she moved and how the dress clung to the swell of her backside. A gentle flutter in her stomach prompted her to cover her abdomen with her hand, and she chewed on her lip for a second before nodding and sitting gingerly in her chair, leaning in toward her mirror.

* * *

Maura struggled not to fidget as she stood in the lobby of Jane's apartment building, waiting impatiently for her to appear so they could go to dinner. She heard steps on the stairs first and her head jerked up, only to huff as some older couple came down and walked out, sparing only a curious glance at her before walking out. She patted her hand against the small tin of marijuana she had stuck in her pocket but refrained from pulling a roll of the pungent herb out, idling nervously for a couple more minutes before she heard footsteps again and looked up just in time to see a foot encased in delicate looking black heels step off the landing.

She greedily let her eyes trail up the silky hem of a dress, interrupted by the long leather coat she'd gifted Jane earlier that week. Long fingers played with the belt that circled the coat and her gaze lingered at the dark grey scarf that wrapped around a long, slim throat, then drank in the subtle makeup Jane wore and the glimmering drop earrings in her lobes. Her dark, wild hair framed her face in its typically unruly fashion, though some of it had been caught back with a clip to show off her jewelry, and Maura felt her mouth go dry when she finally looked into Jane's eyes and read the hunger there as her dark, smoky eyes fell down Maura's body.

She stood straighter, pushing out her chest and straightening so the lines of her tuxedo conformed more to her curves. She knew how she looked in her chosen clothes, from the dainty heels on her feet to the slim, form fitting black pants with creases down the front, to the open tuxedo jacket that hugged her hips and waist like a second skin and the tail that flared out whenever she moved. She pulled on the low cut black vest and then the cuffs of the blue-grey button down beneath it, making sure everything laid smoothly as it should. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant chignon, leaving strands of hair framing her face in loose waves that accented the silver jewelry at her ears and throat. The pendant that laid between her breasts glinted in the light and Maura knew the instant Jane's eyes fell on it, as her pupils dilated and she tripped over her feet.

"Good evening, Jane."

"Maura – ah, I, you – hi," Jane stammered throatily, yet to remove her gaze from Maura's chest.

Maura smirked with her red painted lips and lifted her eyebrow. "My eyes are up here, Miss Rizzoli."

"I _know that!_ " Jane squeaked and yanked her gaze up violently, nostrils flared as she stared unblinkingly at Maura. "Can we go now?"

"Impatient, are we?" Maura let a little lust color her tone and watched with pleasure as a flush crawled up Jane's throat. She brushed by Maura and swept out into the chilly air, throwing a petulant glance over her shoulder that had Maura smiling and fighting back a snort of laughter.

Maura opened the car door for Jane and walked to the other side, sliding into the driver's seat smoothly and starting the vehicle. They pulled out into the evening traffic, driving further south into the city until they sat outside a posh, upscale hotel that had Jane craning her neck up to stare at the mismatched peaks at the top of the building.

"Whoa."

"Welcome to the Omni Parker House, Jane." Maura smirked and got out of the car, watching as a well dressed black man opened the opposite door for Jane and held his hand out for her to take. She smoothly took Jane's hand after she unfolded her long legs from the car and they watched the man get behind the wheel and drive away. "He'll bring back the car when we need it," Maura said as she flashed a stub she had been handed by him.

Jane swallowed and took a deep breath, letting Maura cradle her hand in the crook of her elbow as they walked through the front doors of the hotel. People crowded the lobby, dressed to the nines in their evening wear, with jewelry glinting off every throat and flashing off gesturing hands. Jane felt distinctly out of her depth and stepped unconsciously toward Maura, feeling like all eyes were on her, certain they could tell she didn't fit in. She startled when gentle hands squeezed her bicep and Maura's breath washed across her chin. "Breathe, Jane. Ignore the high hats and just enjoy the night."

Maura's hand left her arm and drew her beneath a massive chandelier, into a room lit with light and dotted with tables filled with people dining. A waiter bustled over and showed them to a small table against the wall, overlooking the crowds out for a Saturday night, leaving them with menus on the table and promises to bring wine. Maura took the belt of Jane's coat in her hand and pulled it apart, threading the buttons through the holes and never breaking eye contact with Jane, who felt faint as fingertips ghosted over the rich material of her dress.

"May I?"

Jane nodded wordlessly and Maura slid the coat off her shoulders and pulled the scarf away from her neck, eyes roving unashamedly over the dress. "You're gorgeous, Jane." Jane flushed prettily and let Maura pull out her chair for her, shivering when she felt fingers traipse across the nearly bare expanse of her back.

Maura sat with a flare of her coattails, her pendant flashing in the light and eyes lit with intent. Jane couldn't hold her gaze for long, diverting her eyes to the menu in front of her, and she nearly choked on her gasp when she spied the prices of the meals within. "Maura, I can't – oh my God, this is too much!"

She tried to get up and froze when Maura put her hand over Jane's on the table. "Please don't leave. I just…wanted to do something nice for you."

"You've done so much already," Jane said, gesturing at the coat and scarf, and then at her dress.

Maura waved her hand. "Tokens. Things are well and all, but – I would rather give you _experiences_." With a smile, Maura gestured their waiter toward them and let him pour a small amount of wine into a glass. She swirled it around and took a sip, closing her eyes before nodding shortly and he filled her glass, then Jane's. Leaving them again, Jane and Maura met each other's eyes. "It's just dinner."

"That's a lot of heavy sugar, more than I see in a month," Jane hissed sternly. "I can't possibly pay-"

"Which is why I am."

"I can't let you-"

"I'm not letting you; Jane, what is the purpose of this evening?"

Jane's eyes narrowed and her head tipped to the side, drawing her hair over one shoulder as it tumbled wildly. "To show me how absolutely out of my depth I am?"

"To show you that you're _worth_ it." Maura leaned across the table and took Jane's hand again. "I want to take you out, Jane."

"But I…I'm confused."

"What's there to be confused about? We are attracted to each other, there's no real reason not to go out." Maura searched her eyes and tightened her grip. "What's got you in such a tizzy, Jane?"

"I've never – this is…new."

"We've got time," Maura said with a gentle smile. "If you wish?" She left the question hanging between them, leaning back to peruse the menu and leaving Jane to her thoughts.

Jane absently ordered when the waiter came back and they sat in silence for a minute after he disappeared, the silence between them filled with chatter and laughter and sounds of cutlery on glassware. Jane played with the silverware on the table, sneaking glances at Maura as she smiled demurely at her. "Maura, I…I don't do these kinds of things."

"These things?"

"Date. Anyone, really. I mean, ma shoved me at some Italian pikers who didn't know a nice restaurant from a hole in the ground, but I gave them the bum's rush quick enough."

Jane lifted her head slightly, tilting her jaw up fiercely. "I don't take razzing from any futzer who thinks I need some man to be fulfilled." She scoffed and rolled her eyes under Maura's amused gaze. "I don't need _anyone_ to be happy."

"No, I don't imagine you do," Maura said quietly, with some indiscernible emotion coloring her words. Her eyes though, held nothing but respect and admiration as she smiled. She took a sip of her wine and Jane copied her, choking when she felt the toe of a heel slip beneath the edge of her dress and slide against her shin. She jerked her foot as the heel dragged up and down her leg beneath the cloth covering the table.

"Mau – Maura."

"Hm?" Maura casually took a sip of her wine, eyes sparkling mischievously over the rim of the glass as her foot slid another inch higher, skirting close to her knee.

"We're in _public_."

"We're just two young smarties having dinner together," Maura said coyly.

The waiter returned at that moment with a tray on his shoulder bearing their dinner and Jane panicked inside as Maura's foot slid higher, now tickling the inside of her knee. She shot a dirty look across the table but Maura only smiled sweetly as their food was placed before them and then asked the waiter a question so he would linger, all the while dragging her foot along Jane's leg. By the time he left, Jane was ready to come out of her skin, and she slid her hand under the table to grab Maura's foot, feeling the material of her dress where it was bunched around her knees and the smooth skin of Maura's ankle, interrupted here and there by straps of leather.

" _Maura_."

"It's just some innocent fun, _bunny_."

Jane froze, and then covered her face. Maura was concerned for a moment until she noticed Jane's shoulders were shaking and a nearly silent laugh was coming from her lips. "I suppose I deserved that." Jane eventually got herself under control and they dug into their meal, interspersed with shockingly easy conversation and lingering looks over dessert.

By the time they were ready to leave the restaurant, Jane was keenly aware of every movement Maura made, and the whisper of skin over her wrist made her jump. "Sorry, what?"

"Do you still want to do some hoofing? I can take you home if you want, if you're tired or uncertain. I just want you to-"

"I know a good place," Jane interrupted quietly. Maura's mouth snapped shut and Jane smiled lopsidedly, standing up and throwing a wink at Maura. "Why don't you go settle the check, Daddy, and I'll see about getting the car back?"

Maura bit her lip when Jane leaned in to buss her cheek and deftly took the stub from her breast pocket. "Get a wiggle on, Maur. I've got some moves to show you tonight."

The husky burr of her voice made Maura weak kneed and she moaned almost silently as Jane turned and gathered her coat. The subtle flex of muscle beneath the sheer fabric tempted her to touch, and she clenched her hands tightly to resist the urge. Jane pulled the coat over her shoulders and wound the scarf around her neck, throwing a sultry glance over her shoulder as she pulled her hair out from beneath the scarf and walked off. Maura barely managed to pay the check without tripping over her own two feet and rushed out onto the street just in time to see someone brush rudely against Jane and send her stumbling back on the sidewalk.

"Watch your dogs, asshole!" She shouted at the man striding quickly down the street. She held Jane around her waist, with one hand keeping her pressed securely against her front so she wouldn't fall over, and felt every breath she took with her hand flat on her stomach. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm – yeah." Jane patted Maura's hand and stood up, pushing her hair back with one hand as her other fell to Maura's arm. "Don't worry about it. You still wanna hit the floor? I didn't get all dolled up just to have dinner and go back to my apartment."

"Can you drive?"

"Get in, Maur. I'll get us there."

* * *

"You've been here?" Maura's voice was skeptical as they walked toward the club and her eyes drifted toward Jane's profile.

A wry smile lifted Jane's lips as she shrugged, taking a half step closer to Maura so their hands brushed on every other step. "I've been…once." She bit her lip and Maura's eyes locked on the flash of white teeth around wine stained skin. "With Frost." Long, calloused fingers encircled her wrist, bringing them to a halt a few yards away from the busy door. "Under duress."

Maura's brow wrinkled as she processed what Jane had said and she smiled in confusion. "Then why are we here?"

"Because it was actually fun, once I cut loose. And you're not the only one who can dish out experiences." With a wink, Jane boldly entwined their fingers and pulled Maura through the door. They were immediately bombarded by the happy squeal of a saxophone as the big band on stage belted out a lively tune.

Maura gaped at the large, crowded dancefloor and found her attention arrested by the menagerie of people wandering around. Jane pushed through the crowd toward small tables that circled the room and pulled out a chair for Maura, pulling her jacket off her shoulders before sitting across from her. They were approached by a waiter, who disappeared with drink orders, and sat in silence for a minute as Jane watched Maura take everything in.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's the elephant's eyebrows, Jane," Maura said effusively. She glanced at the dancefloor, where the song had changed and couples were making their off and on to the stage, and back to Jane. "Come on, let's get hot, Jane!"

"But our drinks-"

"Will hopefully be here when we get back. Come _on_ , I want to see your dogs in action." Maura smiled winsomely and Jane found herself in the middle of the packed dancefloor, hands in Maura's as she was led around the maze of people to a lively jazz piece. Her dress flared out with each sway of her hips and the heat of the press of bodies was equaled by how increasingly warm she felt as Maura's hands wandered over her body in a perfectly appropriate way while she was twirled out and led across the stage.

By the time the piece came to a raucous conclusion, they were both dewy with perspiration, the silk of Jane's dress sticking to her body and, as they walked back to their table where their drinks were, indeed, waiting, Maura pulled her tuxedo off her shoulders and unbuttoned her cufflinks to roll them up her forearms.

Jane drank in the curves and the way Maura's chest heaved as she caught her breath, pendant swaying and glinting in the light. "What, no room in that fancy peacock's suit for you to pack some heat, daddy?"

"It would have ruined the lines of my clothes, darling," Maura purred with a coy grin. She dragged a finger along the line of Jane's dropped jaw and lifted gently. "Flies."

Turning to take her drink off the table, she took a sip and asked casually, "If I'm your daddy, does that make you my Moll?" Jane, having barely managed to pick her jaw up, started choking on air. Her eyes watered as she coughed and Maura's eyes danced mischievously over the rim of her drink.

They both turned when someone called Jane's name; Jane smiled weakly through her coughing fit and Maura frowned behind her glass as a pretty redhead wound around tables toward them. "Well, I didn't expect to see you here anytime soon, Jane."

"Charlotte – hi," Jane stuttered, fingers fluttering around her throat as she cleared it. "I – I haven't been – how's tricks?"

Charlotte smiled easily, green eyes vibrant against her pale, freckled skin, and addressed them both. "Oh, busy, busy! This is the first night this week I've been home earlier than nine, so I decided to dig out my glad rags and come dancing! You and your girl certainly looked at home out there!" Her smile dropped a little as Maura shifted and put her arm around Jane's waist, though her eyes still danced. "I'm sorry, I'm terribly rude. My name's Charlotte."

"Maura; charmed." Maura shook Charlotte's hand a little harder than necessary and, when Jane caught the faint wince Charlotte couldn't quite hide, she reach around and pinched her backside sharply. Maura jumped and Jane flashed an innocent smile at her.

"I'm glad I ran into you, actually. I…I wanted to apologize for how things ended last time we saw each other." Jane swallowed as a phantom gasp reached her ears and she swore she felt hands winding through her hair for a second. "I was – confused. You opened my eyes, and this one-"

"I'm glad I was good for something," Charlotte said wryly. Maura's brow wrinkled in confusion as she was unable to keep up with the conversation, though she could infer several things from their body language. Charlotte's smile turned more genuine as she braved the space between them and took Jane's hand. "It's just nifty you decided to stay true to yourself, Jane. I'm happy for you, truly."

"I didn't have much of a chance with Maur stalking me," Jane joked.

Maura scoffed and rolled her eyes good naturedly. "I wouldn't have had to resort to such drastic measures if you hadn't been such a hard headed bearcat."

"I thought you liked that," Jane retorted with a smirk.

"Not when it means I have to wait to have what I want. You should know that I'm unused to not getting my way, Jane."

"I'm well aware," Jane shot back dryly.

Charlotte chuckled and squeezed Jane's hand before releasing it. "You two look good together. Have fun tonight, be safe. There's been a rumor of Klan activity not far from here, something about a rally in Worcester." Charlotte stepped inside Jane's personal space and leaned in to buss her cheek, hand cupping her jaw tenderly. "See you around, Oliver Twist."

Before Jane could say anything, she had melted back into the press of bodies that surrounded them, and it took several seconds to realize that Maura had stepped in front of her and was staring up at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." Jane shot Maura a weak smile and took her hand, sitting down with Maura nearly in her lap. "Just give me a minute." They sat in silence and watched people dance and laugh and drink; Jane could feel Maura idly playing with a rogue strand of hair near her nape, and the occasional scrape of her nail over her skin made it prickle with goosebumps.

"She did open my eyes, you know? I didn't even consider women as – as anything, really. Just another body, but Frost brought me here, and…yeah."

"She seems nice," Maura offered neutrally.

"She is."

A few minutes later, Jane shook her head and patted Maura's hip, standing and pulling them back onto the dancefloor. They spent several songs twisting out on the stage, working up a sweat and cheering on the talented players as the night progressed. Eventually, Jane dragged Maura down the back hallway, too hot to stay in the increasingly crowded room but not wanting to leave yet. She shot a lopsided smile back at Maura as she pushed through the back door and led her toward the vine-covered corner near the wall.

Leaning back against the brick, Jane watched her breath fog in the night air and reveled in the cool breeze that washed over her skin. Maura studied the sheltered space briefly before turning and pinning Jane in place with fingers bracketing her wrists and holding them against the brick. "This is nice," she said lowly. "Dark, quiet…private." A smile crossed her lips that made Jane's hair stand on end. "Is this your way of saying you're attracted to me, Miss Rizzoli?"

Jane breathed out a laugh that was smothered as Maura's mouth covered hers, lips slanting together as fingers tightened around her wrists and her cooling body was covered by Maura's. Jane whined when Maura nipped at her lower lip and pulled away, trying to follow her retreating mouth only for Maura to push against her chest and step firmly into her space.

"Do you know what this dress has done to me? What I want to do to _you?_ " The green of her eyes nearly swallowed by her pupils, Maura hungrily traced the lines of Jane's dress with her eyes as her free hand grasped her waist greedily. She shifted just enough to push her thigh between Jane's legs, not applying pressure but leaving the promise of pleasure teasing at the periphery of Jane's awareness. "How can someone be so damn beautiful and not know it?"

Jane found any response stifled as Maura's tongue slipped into her mouth and her now free hands grasped desperately at the back of her vest. She yanked her shirt out of her pants and slipped her fingers beneath the fabric, feeling smooth skin under the pads of her fingertips. Maura moaned into her mouth, winding her fingers through Jane's hair as she dotted kisses down to her chin and the underside of her jaw. Jane felt her start to suck a bruise just beneath her ear and grabbed a handful of her backside with a particularly hard suckle, surprised to feel bare skin beneath her fingers.

"Maur?"

"Hmm…" Maura nipped the bruise darkening on Jane's skin and moved lower, pulling the shoulder of her dress aside to attack the jutting bone there.

"You – you aren't we – oh fuck – no under _wear?_ " Her question dropped into a pitchy sigh as teeth set gently into her skin and she leaned her head back against the brick.

Maura worked her way back to her ear, nipping here and there as she grasped Jane's waist with her hands. "I'm wearing a thong."

" _God_ , why?"

"Reduces lines," Maura said between kisses. "We could continue discussing this," she said as she began dragging Jane's dress up her legs, "or we could get a wiggle on and get more _comfortable_." She dragged her nails up Jane's thighs and lifted her leg, smiling victoriously as Jane whined. "Let me take you home, Jane. I want to see you."

Jane nodded wordlessly and they walked back into the club, collecting their things and nearly jogging in their haste to collect Maura's car. Jane got behind the wheel again and started the drive back to her apartment; half heartedly warding away Maura's wandering hands as she tried to keep her attention on the road.

They drove into Jane's neighborhood, cruising beneath the street lights and, as Jane pulled up to a stop sign, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Someone had painted a slur on a storefront on the opposite corner, the hateful words covering the glass pane of the Italian bakery. "Go Home, Greasballs…" She muttered under her breath, her arousal taking a violent step back in the wake of the slur. As she eased on the gas, she saw more graffiti and, eventually, signs of damage to stores and vehicles in the primarily Italian neighborhood.

Beside her, Maura was no longer touching her, quiet and studious as her eyes darted over the words and paint and broken glass. "Jane?"

"Just…be quiet." Jane drove to the next intersection and put the car in park; she stepped out from behind the steering wheel when she saw several shapes gathered around the door of someone's house.

"Jane," Maura hissed urgently, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Stay here, I'm just…" Jane strode toward the people, pulling up short when she realized one of them had a pistol in their hand and the other two were both armed with bats. She took a small step back and to the side, sliding deeper into the shadows between street lamps, and watched one man beat out the window beside the door with his bat while another tossed a bag through the broken pane. They snickered and walked away, Jane sneaking after them as quietly as she could in her heels.

When they stopped at the next intersection and gathered together to confer quietly, she chanced inching closer, hearing muttered sounds but no specific words as they broke up. One man walked beneath the awning of an apartment building while the others walked into the alley beside it, disappearing from sight quickly. Jane cocked her head to the side in confusion until she heard glass break and startled shouts from inside the building, lights flicking on as neighbors woke up. She started to walk out across the street but found her arm caught and whirled around, ready to fight until she realized Maura had come up behind her with wide, worried eyes and lips pursed.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"They're-"

"They're _Klan_ , Jane. Look." She pushed Jane's shoulder and they watched as the man beneath the awning pulled a white hood out of his jacket pocket and yanked it over his head, pulling the bat up by his shoulder in preparation.

Jane tensed and wrenched her arm out of Maura's grip, barely managing to take a single step before she was caught again and forcibly yanked into the shadows. " _Stop it. Look._ "

Jane watched in horror as more ghostly shapes materialized out of the gloom, most wielding bats and golf clubs, though a few carried rope over their shoulders, or gasoline in cans while nervously flicking lighters in their hands. "Maura – Maur, let me go letmego _letmego_!"

Maura pulled her back into her chest and wrapped one arm around her middle while her other grasped her hand hard. "I can't, I can't, please don't," she whispered quietly, tears washing her voice out.

Jane turned away when the first frightened person stumbled out of the building, flinching as the wet, meaty sound of wood connecting with flesh echoed over the dark street. She clung to Maura, growling and whimpering into her shoulder, and her hands flitted across her waist beneath her coat. She stiffened when someone squealed in pain and the sounds of fighting reached their ears, and Maura let her pull away, taking her hand to try and lead them away from the scene.

"No."

"Jane?"

Jane's lip curled and she shook off Maura's hand, jaw ticking when she turned back toward the noises. Maura's blood ran cold when she saw something glint in Jane's hand and she reached out to yank her back as Jane lifted her arm, taking a bare second to sight down the barrel before she pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet exiting the gun was deafening, even over the screams and grunts of the fighting people, and everything seemed to pause for one long minute. A person cloaked in white looked down at their chest, where red was blooming over their robes, and lifted their hand to touch the spot before dropping to the ground.

Everyone looked around for the source of the gunshot and Jane let off two more shots in that time, dropping two more Klansmen. One fell soundlessly to the pavement, a neat hole in his temple and blood and brain matter spattered over another's face while the other screamed and gripped his leg. Chaos followed as both sides ran for cover and Jane took a couple more potshots at retreating figures before she let her arm fall limply to her side.

The very air seemed to be holding its breath as the gunshots faded out slowly over the street and the bodies laid in the road, one still moaning pitifully while three others laid still in growing pools of blood. The muzzle of the gun smoked lazily, curling slowly into the air and dissipating on the faint breeze that stirred Jane's hair and revealed the taut, tension filled curve of her shoulder.

Maura let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and slowly approached her, cautiously setting her hand on her arm and taking the gun when Jane's grip slackened. She tucked it back into her waistband and caught Jane around her waist as she suddenly weaved, quickly drawing them away from the road as voices pitched loudly in fear began filtering out onto the street. She put Jane into the car and got behind the wheel, calmly reaching across the gear shift to put the gun back into the glove box she had pulled it from and reversed into a driveway to drive back the way they came, then took a left to go further into the city, around the bloody scene.

* * *

She took glances at Jane occasionally, finding her staring at her hands in her lap every time, and worriedly pulled her car into the driveway of her home not long after, barely taking the time to yank the key out of the ignition before she was easing Jane up and into her house. She locked the door behind them and led Jane up the stairs, depositing her on the edge of her bed and disappearing into her bathroom for a minute.

When she came back out, Jane was sitting in the same position, a blank expression on her face and her hands clenched into fists. Maura sank onto her knees in front of her and put a cup into her hands, quietly urging her to drink as she began to pull her heels off her feet. She slipped her hands beneath her dress and swallowed as she followed the fabric of Jane's garters to mid thigh and slowly rolled them down her leg before slipping the small buttons out of their holes down the front of her dress and letting it pool around her waist. Jane sat still, mechanically drinking the water and staring at nothing, standing up when Maura gently pulled on her arms and not reacting as the silky fabric pooled around her feet. Maura exhaled slowly as she pulled a nightgown out of her dressers and watched it swallow Jane's frame, taking the cup from her limp grip and laying her back in the bed.

As she pulled the covers up, she watched as Jane's eyes slowly came back to life and her breath came faster. "Jane?"

"Maur."

Jane's voice wobbled tellingly with the threat of tears and Maura got beneath the covers, ignoring the way her pants pulled and pins dug painfully into her scalp. "I'm here, sweetheart, I'm here." She cradled Jane's head against her chest as the first sob wracked her frame and trailed her hand across her back, feeling the pull of muscle over bone and the hitching breaths as Jane cried. "I'm here, it's okay."

"They're – they're _dead_. I-"

"You stopped them," Maura said firmly.

"I _killed them_. I – I…with my hands, I pulled the – oh God…" Jane moaned brokenly and grasped desperately at Maura's shoulders, nails digging painfully into her skin through her shirt.

"You _protected them_ , you stopped them before it could escalate. _You, Jane_ ," Maura said emphatically. She scraped her fingers over Jane's scalp and rocked them gently for long minutes until Jane's hiccupping sobs eased into broken, stuffed up breaths and quiet whimpers. "It'll be okay."

"I…killed th – it's not okay."

* * *

Terms:

High hats - snobs

Heavy sugar - a lot of money

Piker - cheap skate

Bum's rush - forceful ejection from a place

Razzing - teasing

Smarty - cute flapper

Hoofing - dancing

Daddy - not a sexual term; used as a term for a woman's rich significant other

Moll - gangster's significant other

Get a wiggle on - get moving

Dogs - feet

Hit the floor - go dancing

Elephant's Eyebrows - terrific

Get hot - encouragement for a dancer

Packing heat - carrying a weapon

Glad rags - dressy clothes

Nifty - great

Bearcat - feisty woman

Oliver Twist - skilled dancer


	6. Chapter 6

Have another chapter!

 **les - I'm glad you like it, here's another!**

* * *

When Maura woke up, her eyes felt gritty and her mouth was fuzzy with the remnants of liquor on her tongue. She yawned widely and nuzzled back against the body she was wrapped around, then startled back awake and stared at the dark hair that was laying riotously on the her pillow. Jane's breath came easy and her legs were twisted with Maura's beneath the covers, one shoulder bare where the nightgown had slipped during the night. Maura studied the bare skin on display for a moment as she recalled the events of the night before and eased herself out of bed.

She walked downstairs after finally taking off her pants and vest, sighing happily as she dug pins out of her hair and let her hair fall over her shoulders in wild kinks and waves. Digging through the cupboards in her kitchen, she shut one with a tin of coffee grounds in her hand and promptly dropped it when she came face to face with Siobhán, who was leaning against the counter with an expectant lift to her eyebrow.

"God, are you _trying_ to give me a heart condition?" Maura stepped around Siobhán and put the kettle on to boil, studiously measuring out coffee grounds to put in the filter, and forced her body to stay relaxed as she felt Siobhán's eyes bore into her back.

"I heard a rumor from a chicken this morning," Siobhán opened casually, and Maura muttered a curse under her breath.

"Oh?"

"Yes, most peculiar. Something about a shooting in an Italian neighborhood…Klan, if the reports are to be believed. Odd, isn't it?"

"Hardly. Klan activity has been picking up in recent weeks, and there was news of a rally in Worcester only a couple days ago." Maura shook her head as the kettle whistled sharply and took it off the stove. She put out two cups and filled them with coffee and set one in front of Siobhán. They sat across from each other at the table and stared over the curling steam for a long minute. "What, exactly, do you want?"

"You and your girl were out in that area last night." Siobhán put her hand up to forestall anything Maura might say. "Don't deny it; you know I have eyes and ears everywhere, dear."

Maura deflated, hands cupping her coffee tightly. "Yes."

"What happened?"

"I shot them," Maura retorted sharply.

Siobhán stared at her hard and shook her head slowly. "No, you didn't."

"…I hate you know me so well."

"Jane?"

"Managed to get my gun out of my waistband. How many?"

"Four Klan. One wounded, three dead. Seven civilians…all dead."

A sharp gasp from the doorway of the kitchen made them both turn sharply in their chairs. Jane stood unsteadily in the door, dark circles beneath her eyes and nightgown slipping off her shoulder. "I…I just-"

"Jane, you should go back upstairs; I'll bring some food up soon."

"No, I don't think I can – I killed _three_ of them?" Jane's face paled dramatically and she stumbled over to the think, throwing up bile and the meager contents of her stomach as Maura and Siobhán exchanged troubled glances.

* * *

Jane stared listlessly at the wall in the sitting room while Maura made herself busy and glanced over at her every few minutes. She sighed after nearly an hour of no movement from Jane and sat on the couch next to her, taking her limp, cool hand between hers. "Jane?"

"Mm?"

"It's been a day and…"

"Mm."

Jane continued to stare at the wall and Maura took a steadying breath. She squeezed Jane's hand, stood, and pulled her up with her. "Come on; I want to show you something." She led a placid Jane through her home, out the back door in the kitchen and into the garden behind the house. They walked into a shed at the back of the property and Maura let Jane's hand go so she could shove a table away from the wall and pulled up on a nearly invisible latch in the floor, then gestured at Jane to walk down the rough hewn stairs set into the hole in the ground.

"After you. There's a lamp on the table next to you; just light it and I'll follow you down."

Jane, eyes glowing just a little with excitement, lit the lamp and started down the stairs, looking over her shoulder when she heard Maura behind her and they were plunged into near darkness. They walked down for an interminable minute before Jane stepped away from the stairwell and into a massive room lit dimly with lights from the bulbs overhead, and filled with bottles of liquor. She gasped at the size of the room and the amount of moonshine sitting in crates and looked back at Maura. "That's a helluva barrel house to have just _sitting_ beneath your shed, Maura."

"Follow me," Maura said, smiling as she took the lamp in one hand and Jane's hand in the other, leading her past tables of alcohol and crates to an enclosed room at the back of the distillery. It opened into a long, narrow hallway, maybe ten feet wide and forty feet long; another door was directly opposite them but Maura set the lamp on a table beside them and walked to a large cabinet next to that. "I want to show you something," she repeated as she opened the cabinet.

She opened a door and Jane took a step back, hands trembling as she scanned the wide array of weapons neatly stored within. "Maura? I don't – what-"

"Come here."

Maura waited patiently with her hand extended, expression open and inviting as she watched Jane shift on her feet before she cautiously set her fingers in her hand. "Stand here. Look." She pulled a small pistol out of the cabinet and displayed it on her palm. "It's meant to fit in a woman's purse, or their pocket. They're for protection, Jane, to defend oneself from danger. It's no Chicago typewriter, it has a certain…beauty, in the clean lines and the motion of pulling the trigger." She opened the chamber and tilted it toward Jane. "See? It's empty, it can't hurt anyone. Do you – do you want to hold it?"

Jane stilled and Maura heard her inhale shakily. She reached for the gun, lightly running a finger along the pearl handle and the hammer, down the barrel to the iron sight that barely stood out from the smooth metal. "Hold it, here, like this." She gently put the pistol in Jane's hand and showed her how to properly hold it, then angled her so she was facing the far end of the narrow room. "Plant your feet, with your off one forward and wrap your other hand around your left." She corrected Jane's stance quietly, then stood behind her. "Aim down the range."

"Maura?"

"Remember, it isn't loaded, Jane. It won't do anything." Jane lifted the pistol and took several deep breaths to calm the shaking of her hands. "Look down the barrel at the sight, then look past that down range. See the target down there against the wall?"

"Yeah."

"Aim for that. Pull the hammer back with your thumb, put your index finger inside the trigger guard, and squeeze. Don't pull, or it will disrupt your aim." Jane gradually squeezed the trigger, and jumped when the hammer slammed back against the metal plating. "See?" Maura squeezed her shoulder, leaning against her back to hug her from behind. "My brave bearcat. Do you want to fire a live round?"

"I…I don't know if I can."

"Okay. That's okay, how about we go back to the house, and maybe you'll feel like going out later on? Siobhán is making lunch soon, and Susie and Kent are somewhere around here if you want to see them. I could ring Mister Frost and Vince, too."

"Oh god," Jane said, gratefully surrendering the pistol to Maura so she could replace it in the cabinet. "I don't think I can look Susie in the eyes for the rest of the year."

"Why?"

"I…may or may not have opened the door to her in just a ratty shirt that wasn't really buttoned up." Jane flushed and covered her face.

Maura snorted and pulled her hands away from her face, kissing the palms with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Oh, this is the best blackmail material. If this doesn't make her finally stop telling the drunk drag-racing story, nothing will."

* * *

Jane woke the next morning still feeling wrong – less, echoes – but more alert and well rested than she had the previous several mornings. She stretched lazily and flopped back against the pillows, glancing over at the light coming through a crack in the curtains and groaning as she sat up. She washed her face and threw a pair of pants on, pulling a well worn, patched button down on and leaving her suspenders hanging on her hips as she walked downstairs.

"Maur? Hey, I thought we were going to go see Frost and…Vince?" She walked into the kitchen and paused midstep at the sight before her. Siobhán was staring at the table with a sharp downturn on her lips while Kent and Maura stared at her with wide, panicked eyes. Susie, meanwhile, was hiding something behind her back and attempting to be nonchalant about it, though the telltale way she wouldn't meet Jane's eyes made her suspicious.

"What's…going on?"

She edged further into the kitchen and everyone flinched. "Okay, someone better start making feathers before I get the wrong idea. Did somebody die or something?" The look everyone shared made Jane's lighthearted smile disappear. She veered toward the table and clenched her jaw.

"Maura?" Maura looked away and Kent set his hand on her shoulder.

Jane looked at Susie and edged around the table, narrowing her eyes as she stepped the other way and glanced at the kitchen door. "Don't even think about it," she growled.

Susie's eyes widened and she bolted for the doorway that opened into the foyer, revealing the morning paper that she was clutching in a white knuckled grip. Jane pushed a chair out of the way as she chased her with single minded focus, ignoring the cries behind her as she slipped across the polished wood and nearly smacked her head against the wall. She raced after Susie up the stairs and reached for the tail of her button down, just barely catching it before she was gone again. Jane tackled her heels just as she was turning to race down the servant's stairs and they both slid into the wall in a tangle of limbs. Jane wrested the paper from her grasp, sitting atop Susie's hips and pinning her with a look as she shook out the wrinkled paper. She glanced at the front page and froze at the headline:

 _ **WOMAN FOUND DEAD OUTSIDE NIGHT CLUB**_

 _ **Late Sunday night, police were called by the owners of an established pansy club. They arrived to find the body of a young woman in the nearby alley of the establishment. When asked to comment on the scene, police commissioner John Stark**_ _ **had this to say:**_

" _ **We are going to do everything we can [to]…bring the killer to justice. The citizens of this city can rest easy knowing Boston's finest are on the job."**_

 _ **The victim was identified when her purse was found nearby as twenty three year old Charlotte Gooding, formerly of Ives Street. Miss Gooding was last seen…**_

A low whimper reached Jane's ears through the buzz that filled her head, and she realized she was making the noise when she ran out of breath and inhaled raggedly. Susie was staring up at her with pained eyes and Jane scrambled up on suddenly nerveless legs, slapping her palm against the wall to stay upright. She staggered down the back stairs and neatly evaded Siobhán's grasping hands as she found her balance and ran out of the kitchen and through the front door.

She stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and barely caught herself against the side of a black luxury car. The running board ripped a hole in her pants and she felt warmth wash down her leg but ignored it as she stumbled down the sidewalk. She ducked into a nearby alley and dry heaved as the newspaper article's words flashed across her mind again.

She jerked back to awareness when someone shuffled nearby and looked at the mouth of the alley to find Maura staring at her with wide, intense eyes. She took a half-step toward Jane, who pressed herself against the dirty brick, heedless of the rough, broken pieces that scraped her palms and arms. "Hey, hey, it's just me," Maura said quietly. She held her hands out at her sides and licked her lips. "I just want to make sure everything's copacetic, Jane. May I come closer?"

She watched Jane's eyes closely as she edged closer, pausing when she tensed up and waiting for her shoulders to lower again before taking the final step into her personal space. She cautiously laid her hands on Jane's biceps and eased her away from the brick wall so they stood in the middle of the alley. "We…I – I didn't intend for you to find out this way, Jane."

"For me…" Jane felt her heart rate elevate as Maura's words washed over her. Her face warmed up and her fingers curled into her palms. "You _knew?_ "

Maura felt her chest tighten as Jane's expression closed off and tried to backtrack. "I mean – obviously it was in the paper this morning-"

"No no no, don't give me _that_ bushwa." Jane shrugged off Maura's hands and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her pants. "What's actually going on, Maura?"

"I…have contacts inside Boston's police force. Late last night, after we went to sleep, I received a call from one of them." Maura measured her words carefully, weighing each one against Jane's body language. Her heart sunk as Jane's shoulders went stiff and her jaw clenched hard.

"I only got the call because the owners of the club used to sell me some of the best bathtub skee in the area, before they opened up the club. I asked my contact to keep me informed of anything significant that happened there." Maura cringed beneath Jane's dark gaze and felt her normal bravado shrivel up. "Jane, I-"

"I don't care – Maura, you – I _knew_ her, I knew Char…God, _fuck_." Jane pressed her palms against her eyes and Maura automatically pressed her hands against her skin to try and ground her. "Get _away_ from me," Jane snarled, pushing Maura hard. "You – you knew this last night and – I can't do this. I need to go home." She brushed past Maura, who stood frozen in the alleyway until Jane's footsteps faded away, and then she chased her out onto the sidewalk and quickly stepped up beside her.

"Jane, are you sure-"

"I just want to be alone, Maura. I don't want to see you, or your minions…I just need to be alone." Jane's shoulders hunched against Maura's gaze and the cold breeze that whipped down the street.

Maura slowed and took Jane's arm, drawing her to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. "Okay, Jane." Maura smiled sadly, a barely there upturn of her lips that didn't hide the hurt in her eyes or the way her lower lip trembled just slightly. "Okay. You – you know where I am when – _if_ , if you want to talk." She stepped back, releasing Jane, and tugged her coat around her shoulders.

"Jane?" Jane glanced up from staring at her shoes, staring at Maura through her eyelashes. "Just, please be safe? The Klan's arrived in Boston, and – you're important, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, Maura."

* * *

Jane leaned against her apartment door, happy for the silence and the familiar smell of home. She shuddered out a breath and pressed her fingers hard against her eyes to force back the tears that wanted to fall. She just breathed for a minute before forcing herself away from her door and into the tiny kitchen when her stomach growled insistently and reminded her that she hadn't had breakfast yet. She groaned when she opened her fridge and realized nearly everything inside was spoiled; the few eggs in the door, the half drunk bottle of milk, and bread that could make anything resembling a meal all gone bad in the past several days.

Jane pulled the spoiled food out, shut the fridge and leaned her forehead against it, muttering under her breath until her stomach growled again. "Fine. _Fine_ , I'll feed you. Might as well get food for dinner, too." Jane sighed and dug through a tin in her cupboard for some money, then pulled her old winter coat out of her closet by the door and shrugged it on.

She missed the warm jacket and scarf Maura had gotten her but defiantly refused to call her or walk back to ask for them, so she pulled a knitted hat over her curls and slammed the door on the way out. She stomped down the stairs and paused in the foyer, staring across the street at the broken windows of the local grocer, and watching the door swing lazily on cracked hinges. She sighed again and swallowed back bile as the sight reminded her of what she had done nearly a week before, ducking her head to avoid looking anymore. She stepped out into the street and stumbled when someone brushed past her on their way into her building, and she cussed under her breath again.

By the time Jane returned from the grocer a couple blocks away, she was cold, her fingers were almost numb, and the bags she carried were making ominous ripping sounds. She juggled them until she managed to get inside the building and walked up to her apartment, jiggling the knob until the door opened and she could get inside. She kicked the door shut behind herself and gratefully set the bags on the counter in her kitchen, yanking her hat off her head and shrugging out of the coat.

As she draped it over the back of a chair, she noticed the bad food she had left on the table seemed to have moved. The bottle of milk was on the counter, and the half-eaten loaf of bread had been broken open and a piece in the middle was missing. Glancing around warily, she realized the tin of money she kept in the cupboard was out and the lid was up. Jane started breathing quicker and felt a chill race down her spine. She felt her hands begin to tremble as she looked around for a weapon, settling on an old baseball bat of her brothers' that she kept in the hall closet.

She hefted it onto her shoulder and crept through her apartment, taking in the other, little things that were out of place in her home. A blanket she kept on the back of a comfortable chair was out of place, half hanging off the arm, and a book she was reading had been left open to the page she was on. She took a deep breath as she checked her bathroom and then walked into her bedroom, checking her wardrobe and beneath her bed before she allowed herself to relax a little and let the bat dangle from her hand. The covers were rumpled, though she didn't remember having made it before she went out with Maura the previous Saturday.

She looked around carefully, doubling back when she noticed something hanging from her mirror on the wall. She strode over with her heart in her throat and froze when she realized what she was looking at. A note had been taped to the edge of her mirror, written with the lipstick she rarely used.

 _Hello, Janie._

Scattered on the dresser the mirror hung over, photos of her stared up at her, all candid, all showing her in some manner of casual wear and half visible in some cases, the edges of the photographs blurred by tree limbs or the frame of a window. In the middle of the pictures, another note mocked her with the cheery words written on it.

 _We're going to have so much fun together._

* * *

Jane infrequently ventured out the next couple days, nervous of the obvious signs of Klan activity that appeared overnight in her neighborhood and terrified of the unknown presence that had invaded her space. She double and triple checked her windows and door every morning and night, kept her bat close at hand at all times she was in her apartment, and startled every time someone walked past her door in the hallway outside.

By Wednesday, she was a trembling, anxiety wracked mess, and she growled at herself as she shrugged on a warm coat to ward off the bitter cold that had settled in Boston overnight. "I'm a grown damn woman, I'm well able to handle myself. I'm not some futzing bunny, I'm a Rizzoli." She took a deep breath as she opened her door and backtracked to grab her keys before locking her door and venturing out into the biting wind. She ducked her head as she strode briskly down the street, lamenting her forgotten hat on the rack by the door but unwilling to trek back.

She made quick time of the walk across the Southside toward Beacon Hill, grateful for the exercise that was keeping her warm in the bracing wind. She slowed as she approached Maura's house and bit her lip indecisively. When someone brushed rudely past her, she stumbled and barely caught herself before tumbling to the sidewalk. "Eyes up, jackass!" The person lifted their hand perfunctorily and kept walking, leaving Jane fuming as she righted herself and pulled her collar closer to her neck.

She stalked up the walk to the door and banged on it, waiting barely long enough to feel her chest lose its angry tightness before the door swung open. Maura stared at her blankly, half behind the door with a hand on the jamb, blocking Jane's immediate entry. Jane's eyes roamed over her face, taking in the dark circles beneath her concealer, the drawn, pinched look in her cheeks, and the wary gleam in her eyes.

"Hey…hey, Maur." Maura flinched and Jane shrunk in on herself. "Can I – may I come in?" Maura's brow wrinkled as her eyes flicked over Jane's face. Jane shoved her hands in her pockets and tucked her chin against her chest. "I just – miss you," she said quietly.

The truth of it all burned through her, bubbling up in her chest, and she clamped her teeth shut against the fall of words. "I miss _you_ ," she said emphatically, meeting hazel eyes.

Maura silently stepped aside and Jane walked past her. She removed her outer layer as they strode into the kitchen and sat at the table while Maura bustled round busily, accepting a cup of coffee some minutes later when it was handed to her. She sipped on it and hummed contentedly, warming her hands around the cup while Maura perched stiffly on the edge of a chair opposite her.

They stared at each other for long moments, until Jane swallowed past the lump in her throat and blurted out, "You look like the wrong side of a fast ride." She winced immediately and tried to drown herself in her coffee, promptly choking on the scalding liquid and coughing violently.

Maura was up immediately and pounding on her back helpfully – maybe a _little_ too hard – until Jane laid her hand over her arm by her. "I'm – God – I'm fine. Still alive, ugh." Maura gave her a final, solid whack and then sat back in her chair, decidedly less tense as she passed over a dishcloth she took off her counter.

Jane started cleaning up her mess as she chewed thoughtfully on her words. "That was a poor choice of words." Maura snorted inelegantly and Jane braved cracking a smile. "I'm sorry, you know."

Maura arched her eyebrow and Jane sighed, making hypnotic circles with the dishcloth to sop up the last of the coffee. "About all of it. I don't…I'm not feeding you a line, I don't like that you kept that from me, but – you _were_ going to tell me, so I can't really be that bent out of shape about it. I overreacted, and I sh-"

"I shouldn't have kept it from you at all," Maura interrupted quietly. She swallowed and bit her lip. "I realize that now, I just wanted to protect you. For one more day, I wanted you to be happy and ignorant. I wanted to keep you like that, for myself. Isn't that selfish?" Maura shook her head and pulled on a lank strand of hair that had escaped the lazy bun at the nape of her neck. "I wanted to keep seeing you smile, and making dumb jokes, and – just being _you_." Maura's eyes glistened with tears that she brusquely wiped away, angling her face down so Jane couldn't look at her directly.

Jane got out of her chair and knelt beside Maura's, taking her hand between both of hers so she could rub her thumbs over her knuckles, tracing the many small scars that dotted her skin. "We both did things we shouldn't have, okay? I just…Maur?" She squeezed Maura's hand and waited for pink eyes to meet hers, cupping her jaw with one hand as she laced their fingers together with the other. "Can I…I'm so sorry, please don't cry. I'm not good with leaking smarties."

Maura chuckled wetly and leaned into Jane's hand, turning her head to kiss Jane's callused palm. "I've missed you," she whispered.

Jane's eyes softened, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around Maura's shoulders, and buried her face against her neck. "Me, too. God, it's been horrible these past couple days." They leaned gratefully into each other, just breathing the other in and feeling themselves settle a little.

Jane eventually pulled away with a worried look on her face. She clenched her jaw and pursed her lips. "I'm worried." Maura made a concerned face as Jane pressed on. "These attacks are getting worse _fast_ ; these Klan futzers are worse than the damn Mulligans that cruise through the neighborhood sometimes. They've destroyed peoples' homes, Maura, and – it's all around me, now." Jane blew out a frustrated breath as Maura made a low noise at the back of her throat and pushed some wayward curls away from her face. "I don't feel safe there anymore."

"You're more than welcome to stay here, Jane, as long as you want," Maura said immediately.

Jane glanced up at her briefly. "I don't want to impose. I mean, Maura – we still need to talk about things, you know?"

"Yes, Jane, but your safety is more important. We can always talk, but you…you need to be safe. I'm not minimizing our need to really sit down and talk, by any means," she said quickly, when Jane opened her mouth to interrupt. "But with those white bastards on the loose in Boston, we need to be careful. Between your job, your heritage, and…us…Jane, do you understand what they do?"

"I read the paper, Maura. I've seen pictures of the things those – those _animals_ have done. I just – thank you. I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to," Maura said with a faint smile. "Now, while I would love to continue speaking, it is almost two, and I need to go see a man about a dog." Maura set her cup in the sink and Jane followed suit, trailing her up the stairs to her room where she watched Maura pull a shoulder holster over her button down and strap a pair of knife sheaths to her ankles.

"Just in case, you see? I don't anticipate any funny business, but there's some heavy sugar involved with this particular supplier, and I'd rather be safe than sorry." Maura pulled her winter jacket over her shoulders last, then held her arms out for inspection. "So?"

"You know you look beautiful, Maur."

"Can I have some cash, then?" Maura phrased the question playfully, but her eyes were worried and shy.

Jane quirked her lips as she closed the distance between them and planted her wind chapped lips on the corner of Maura's lips. "There's more when you get back, daddy."

Maura pouted but gave way gracefully with a toss of her hair. "Feel free to roam, Jane. What's mine is yours, okay? I'll be back this evening."

"Bye, Maur."

* * *

Maura returned very late that night, shuffling tiredly into the house and removing her boots with a grateful moan and leaving her jacket and holsters on the end table before walking upstairs to her room. She shut her bedroom door and started pulling clothes off, removing the smell of barn and animals on her way to her bed, which she could barely see in the dim light offered by the waning moonlight.

She sat heavily on the edge of the bed and jumped up as something wiggled beneath her thigh, twisting awkwardly on her foot to stare hard at the covers when something moved. She was startled to see an arm wiggle on top of the duvet and turned on a lamp on the dresser nearby. Maura relaxed when she realized it was Jane, one arm flung over her head with the other flexing restlessly at her side. Her wild hair was tangled in a dark halo around her head, a book abandoned on the other pillow. She smiled softly as she set the book on the bedside table and quietly climbed in on the other side of the bed, nestling happily beneath the warm covers and sliding closer carefully to try and avoid waking Jane. She froze when Jane sighed and shifted again, turning on her side and cracking open her eyes with a muzzy smile.

"Maur."

"Go back to sleep."

"Time's'it?"

"A little after eleven, go back to sleep, Jane." Maura pushed some hair away from her face.

"Okay?"

"I'm fine," Maura whispered. "Everything's ducky, it just took longer than expected."

Jane nodded against the pillow and inhaled deeply, wiggled closer so she could throw a leg over Maura's hip and bury her nose against her neck. "Smell weird."

"That would be the barn we were in," Maura whispered with humor. Jane hummed sleepily and relaxed against her, deep breaths prompting Maura to shut her eyes and put an arm around her shoulders. "Goodnight, Jane."

* * *

Jane woke sometime in the early morning to the sound of Maura lightly snoring, a heavy arm thrown warmly over her shoulders and her breath fanning over her temple. She carefully extricated herself from her grasp and tiptoed out of the room, pulling her shirt more closely around herself as she walked downstairs. Jane winced as her bare feet hit the frozen grass and strode briskly across the yard, slipping into the shed with a surreptitious glance around.

She pulled the hidden door open and walked downstairs into the barrel house, using the lamp in her hand to pick her way around tables and crates until she reached the firing range at the back of the room. She opened the cabinet on the back wall with trembling hands and stared at the array of weaponry stored neatly within, her eyes roving across the mixture of pistols, shotguns, rifles, and a couple of submachine guns with their intimidating drum magazines set neatly beneath them. She reached for a large handgun and startled at its heavy weight, replacing it quickly in the cabinet and turning to the more compact pistols.

She hesitantly ran a finger along the barrel of a revolver, ticking over the hammer and down the hand grip. Picking it up, she turned and sighted down range, then dry fired the weapon after fumbling with the hammer and figuring out she needed to cock it before firing. The dull, metal-on-metal sound of the hammer striking the empty chamber made her flinch, but she made herself practice some more before carefully pulling a box of ammunition out of the cabinet and palming it. She crept up the stairs and carefully replaced everything, then snuck back into the house and hid the revolver and ammunition in her coat pocket before padding upstairs.

She shut Maura's bedroom door and jumped when Maura groaned quietly. "Mmm…Jay?"

"Yeah, Maur," she whispered hoarsely, rubbing her palms together nervously. "Go back to sleep."

She slid beneath the covers and Maura rolled to partially cover her, rubbing warm toes along Jane's shin as she tucked herself neatly beneath her chin. "Y'smell funny."

"I just went for a walk. I was outside."

"M'kay. Ni' Jay."

"Night, Maur."

Maura fell quickly back to sleep, warm breath skating across Jane's sternum as she stared up at the ceiling with a worried frown on her face, thoughts spinning viciously and wandering back to the gun downstairs.

* * *

Terms:

Barrel house - illegal distillery

Chicago typewriter - Thompson Submachine Gun

Bearcat - fiery woman

Making feathers - idle conversation

Bushwa - bullshit

Skee - scotch whiskey

Futzing bunny - fucking idiot

Feeding one a line - telling a lie

Leaking smarty - crying woman

Mulligan - irish cop

See a man about a dog - reference to buying alcohol from a bootlegger

Heavy sugar - large amounts of money

Cash - a kiss

Daddy - rich significant other

Ducky - great


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, y'all, here's where shit starts getting nuts.

Read on!

* * *

Jane kept her hand firmly in her pocket, running the pad of her fingertip over the smooth metal of the revolver as she walked down the street. Her steps lengthened as her apartment building came into sight and she walked inside with a wary glance around, pausing in the stairwell on her floor to shakily push some bullets into the chamber and pull the hammer back. She paused at her door and inhaled deeply, then twisted the handle and lifted the revolver to eye level at the same time, entering her home with narrow eyes watching the corners carefully. She checked her cupboards, her wardrobe, even beneath her bed and behind the door of her pantry before she was satisfied and let her grip relax. She un-cocked the weapon and set it on the table, took her coat off, and slumped into a chair at her kitchen table. Head falling into her hands, she sighed heavily and felt the tension bleed out of her shoulders slowly as she listened to the faint howl of wind outside her window, and the low bustle of cars on the street below.

A quiet sound nearby made her stiffen and she laid her hand over the revolver cautiously. A familiar groan, made by loose floorboards just inside her door and unavoidable unless one knew her apartment, made Jane stand up with the weapon in her grip. She turned on her heel and pulled back the hammer again, holding her breath as she slid behind her table. A shadow appeared in the door of her kitchen and she raised the pistol slightly as a heavy footstep came closer.

She exhaled loudly as her mother came around the corner, hastily hiding the gun behind her back. "Ma! Christ, don't sneak up on me!"

"Don't take the Lord's name in vain, Janie! And since when is it a crime for a mother to drop by to see her daughter, eh?" Angela gave Jane the stink eye as she bustled into the kitchen, laying food out on the table and draping her jacket and purse over a chair.

Jane rolled her eyes as she stuck the pistol into her waistband and yanked her shirt out of her pants so it would drape over the butt of the gun. "Ma, you know that isn't what I meant."

"Well, that's what I heard!" Angela rattled around in the cupboards, pulling plates out and setting them on the table. "Janie, where'd that nice china I gave you for Christmas last year go to?"

"It should be right there in that cupboard, ma." Jane sighed and reached around Angela, opening the same door her mother had just been in. Her brow furrowed when she saw the lower shelf was conspicuously empty. "That's….weird."

"Did you break it?"

"Did I…ma, I haven't touched it since the _last_ time you were over!"

"Then it should be here!"

"Well, it obviously isn't! I can't just pull plates out of the air, ma!"

Angela scowled and grabbed Jane's wrist. "I know you didn't like them all that much, but that's no reason to – to hide them or get rid of them or whatever you did!"

"Ma, I – I just – oh my fu…" Jane sighed and dragged her palm down her face. "Look, I have perfectly serviceable, _normal_ plates over here. Let's just use them, okay?" Angela acquiesced with grudging grace and they ate, talking sporadically over their meal.

Jane waved her off when she tried to wash the dishes and all but forced Angela out the door, shutting and locking it with a relieved sigh. She dragged her fingers through her hair and strode back into her kitchen, standing at the sink to wash the plates and flatware as she stared out the grimy window at the dimly lit street below and hummed to herself.

Her eye wandered over a black car that was sitting on the curbside and then backtracked abruptly. "What the…haven't I seen that breezer somewhere?" Something tickled at the back of her mind, a memory of a luxury car from earlier that she couldn't quite place, and she shrugged as she set the wet dishes on the counter and dried them slowly. She put them away and set the damp cloth on the edge of the sink, turning to the leftovers on the table.

She jumped and cursed colorfully when something broke in her sitting room. She rushed into the room, expecting to find one of her photos had come off the wall again and froze when she saw a man sitting in her chair instead, a pile of china on the table beside him and shattered plate at his feet. "Who the hell are you," she growled.

"There's no need for profanity, especially from such a hotsy-totsy like you, eh, Janie? Do you mind if I call you Janie?"

"I don't know who the fuck you are, buddy, but you better scram before I call the bulls and have them pinch your trespassing ass!"

"It has such a nice ring to it," the stranger continued amiably, as if he hadn't even heard Jane's outburst. "Janie," he dragged out slowly, tasting each syllable on his tongue like it was a fine dessert, and Jane felt a disgusted shiver roll down her spine.

She took a threatening step toward him, pausing again as he nonchalantly pulled a plate off the pile and twirled it between his hands. "Aren't you going to be polite and ask my name? That's only fair, considering I know yours."

"I. Don't. Care."

He tutted reprovingly and exploded into motion, throwing the plate at Jane's body and lifting himself out of the chair all in one motion. Jane staggered back as it hit her chest off-center and went down in a flurry of limbs as she was tackled. She groaned as her back hit the floor and her head smacked the wood abruptly, spots dimming her vision alarmingly with the impact. Blood welled in her mouth as she bit her tongue, and she clutched at the heavy weight atop her hips desperately, fighting the stranger pinning her down with increasing fury. She ripped at his pants and coat frantically.

"Get – the hell – _off me!_ "

"So fierce, eh?" Sounding slightly out of breath, the stranger nonetheless managed to grab one of Jane's flailing arms and pinned it by her side, pressing his leg against it painfully so it was caught between himself and her body. He grunted when Jane caught his jaw with her free hand, grey eyes flashing with ire as he scowled. "Not very lady-like behavior; what would your mother think if she could see you now? Why don't you be a good bunny and be _still?_ "

One of his hands grabbed her wrist painfully, wrenching it around in a vice grip, while the other went to her throat and squeezed. Jane gasped for air and wiggled her legs frantically, trying without success to buck him off her. He smiled coldly as her face turned steadily more red and a vein popped in her forehead and then in the white of her eyes, her efforts weakening quickly as she ran out of oxygen. As her eyes started to roll back in her head, he released her throat and she dragged in a frantic, hoarse breath of air.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" As Jane continued to gasp, he casually pulled a slim knife from an inner pocket and twirled it dexterously between his fingers. "Now, let's try this again, shall we? It's nice to make your acquaintance, Janie," he said conversationally, pushing grey hair out of his face. "My name is Charles Hoyt." Jane's eyes widened in recognition, and then her head whipped to the side as something hard hit her temple, and she passed out.

* * *

Pain.

Deep, insistent, throbbing _pain._

The sort that leaves one feeling nauseated and praying to anyone for it to Just. Stop.

Pressing her eyelids together only made it worse, as did clenching her jaw.

Her head wobbled sickeningly to one side and her thoughts spun between the aching spaces in her brain _a carnival ride out of control._

She pried open an eye, feeling something gummy and warm trying to keep it shut, and peered blearily around at her surroundings.

Dark, dim, smelling of mold and something metallic.

She groaned, throat dry and sore, like she had a cold but somehow worse.

Someone chuckled and she jumped, realizing as her wrists chafed that she was bound somehow to whatever she was sitting on. She tried to look around and regretted it as her neck ached suddenly. Behind her _beside in front inside_ the voice rumbled with laughter again.

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't try anything fancy, Janie."

 _Janie Janie Jane Janie Jay Janie Jane_ echoing through her battered brain like a skipping record, aching and drilling and reverberating until she felt like her teeth would fall out of her head. _Jane?_

"Janie, Janie, I didn't think I hit you that hard." Footsteps _one two three four si –_ five _six seven eight_ staccato uniform moved until the voice stood in front of her and forced her head up.

She _Janie Jane_ whimpered as the pain in her neck head brain spiked and closed her eyes against the stomach churning perspective change.

"Don't close those pretty brown eyes, Janie. _Look at me._ "

She forced her eyes open.

"Do you remember who I am?"

Words. Right. Who…?

"Wh…oyt. Hoyt."

The voice laughed again and tobacco stained teeth grinned _bleached bone on a black backdrop_ as her head was made to nod. "Good girl."

The words made her bristle _poor bunny poor bunny bunny not a bunny_ and she ripped her head from his hand, gagging as everything wobbled and hurt and shook sickeningly.

"N-not."

Her voice was almost completely silent, each syllable a knife in her trachea as it ripped past her vocal cords.

"We'll see." Flipping something shiny casually in the air, Hoyt regarded her through cold grey _green hazel gold_ eyes. "Do you know what I do?" She glared up at him, forcing her eyes to focus on the slim knife twisting through the air.

"Charles Hoyt, Municipal Judge in the great city of Boston," he said with bombast.

She peered up at him. Rusty, wet sounding laughter filled the space between them and she realized it was coming out of her abused throat only after he slapped her and the sound was abruptly cut off.

"Insolent child."

"Whataya want?" She rolled her tongue around in her mouth and spit a wad of blood onto the floor between them. Hoyt looked down at the dark flecks on his shoes with some emotion on his face.

The smile that lifted his lips made her go cold colder shivering trembling numb.

"You, Janie."

 _Jane._

* * *

Maura pulled up in the alley behind the speakeasy and turned her car off, lighting a joint up as she waited for someone to come out back and open up for her. A few minutes passed before the back door opened and a silhouette was outlined in the light spilling from inside.

"Miss Isles?"

"Frost? I thought Jane was working tonight? She always works Fridays." Maura was unable to quash the disappointment in her chest as she dropped the weed and rubbed it out beneath her heeled boots.

She opened her trunk while Frost walked around the side of the car with a look in his eyes she couldn't decipher. "She was supposed to, but sometimes she likes to take a night to herself. She usually calls one of us, is all. It's…odd."

"Hm." Maura felt her stomach twist uneasily and ignored it as a side effect of not having completely reconciled things between them. "She'll be here tomorrow night though, correct?"

"Yeah, she will. Day before Halloween, every cellar smeller will be out, carousing and getting zozzled." He leaned in with a little grin. "We do two-for-one drinks, Jane always makes a lot of scratch these kinds of nights. Don't let her tell you otherwise, but she loves the extra cash, and there's always some baby vamp there to keep her entertained."

Maura's mouth set in a frown and her eyes tightened as she fought back the urge to snarl and snap. "Though I suppose she won't need that with you hanging around these days." Maura blinked in surprise and Frost laughed as he lifted one of the heavy cases like it weighed nothing. "I see a lot more with these eyes than Jane thinks, and I've seen her staring at you like you're the last donut in the box for a while now."

Maura chuckled, a little off balance still as she followed him in with another case and they set it inside the back door. They unloaded the other crates while Korsak unboxed everything and hid it behind the counter, then stood around talking until the first person came down the stairs and sidled up to the bar. Maura bade them good evening and walked back out into the alley, pulling her collar higher against the cold air that had settled firmly over the city. She paused with a hand on the handle of her door and looked out at the street, then back at the door to the speakeasy with a frown on her lips, before getting in and backing out onto the street and driving back toward her home.

* * *

"…ie, Janie, Janie…thought you were str…a shame…play a while lo…"

Her head lolled to the side as her eyes squinted open _bright light a car coming at her_ and stared through the flickering flame of the lamp hanging near her head. Her hands were tied to the arms of the chair she was sitting in, dumb numb useless and fingertips twitching as she stared at them with a confused sort of detachment.

"Janie…"

"Mmwha'?" Her head rolled to the side, catching movement _rolling dizzying nauseating ship on the water_ in the corner of her vision that eventually settled into the form of a man.

"Wh…Hoyt. Hoyt." She couldn't get her heavy tongue to cooperate any further, nor her trembling shivering lips to form words so she settled for glaring at him with all of the hate her addled mind could manage. Her eyes slid shut against her will before _hot pain like running into a doorframe_ she was smacked hard. Her eyes jerked open as her brain rattled about painfully in her head and her vision went blurry.

More blurry.

Dark shape indistinct against the flickering backdrop.

Voice like poison dipped in honey.

Light glinting dangerously off something sharp.

" _Don't_ look away from me, Janie." Fingers _claws digging into skin_ clutched her chin and tipped her head back so her eyes met his. "We have so much more time to spend together. You see, I left a gift for your…friend."

Her fingers twitched on the chair arms.

He grinned ferally, teeth and tongue and gums all bared in a mocking smile _a cadaver's grinning skull on display_. "I've figured it all out, Janie. I've got the upper hand, and soon I'll be the talk of the town! I'll get to eat my cake," dragging a thumb across her lower lip, "And have it, too." He leaned down into her face, manic gaze boring into her dazed eyes.

"And it's all thanks to you. Once I have your little heater-packing mick in my grasp, I'll be able to tell everyone how I single handedly took down a rum running mobster; I'll have the city in the palm of my hands, and I'll be able to run every job-stealing immigrant and deviant out on a rail with the power of the Klan at my beck and call."

* * *

The phone rang in the middle of Saturday night, shrilling urgently until Maura moaned pitifully and reached blindly for the receiver. "'Lo?"

"Maura? Maura, it's Frost. Listen, I know it's the middle of the night, but-"

"Mmm'sup?"

"It's Jane, she's not here, she won't pick up her phone-"

"She's sleep'n, mos'people are."

"It's not right, Maura, she never, _never_ goes two nights without calling out. Something's wrong, I can't leave, we're swamped, everybody and their brother decided to get fried tonight, and they've all brought friends!"

Maura finally started waking up and heard the buzz of conversation in the background of the phone, very faint tinkles of a piano and laughter. "Jane?"

" _She's not here, Maura_."

Jane's – missing?" Maura sat up in her bed, rubbing at her eyes hard to clear the last of the sleep from her mind. The beginnings of a headache stirred behind her temple as she turned on a lamp and put her feet on the cold hardwood floors. "I'll go to her apartment, I'm sure she's just sleeping; she probably got sick walking through the city the other day. The temperature has been dropping rather significantly this past week." She sounded unsure to her own ears, and Frost made an unconvinced noise into the receiver.

"Sure, Maura. Just call me when you find something out, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Maura was only half paying attention as she stumbled out of bed and searched for clothes in her wardrobe while hanging up the phone, and she tripped over her pants when she was blindly pulling them on in the dark.

She hurried downstairs and froze when she saw Susie standing at the kitchen door, sipping from a mug and staring in surprise at Maura. "Miss Isles?"

"I have to go out, Susie. I'll be back – later."

"Hey, wait, I'll go-"

Susie hastily set her mug on the counter and grabbed her jacket off the hook as she trailed after Maura, who was halfway down the drive already by the time she got outside. Maura wrenched open the door to the garage, a feeling of panic firmly settling in her chest as she strode to the nearest car and got in. Susie hopped in just as Maura put the car in reverse and nearly hit the supporting wall on her way out of the garage. She squealed the tires on her way out of the driveway, merging into traffic with thinly pressed lips and white knuckles.

They made it to Jane's apartment building in short order and both women walked quickly to the lift, riding up in strained silence. They burst into the corridor with tight expressions, hands drifting to their jacket pockets as they approached Jane's door. Maura was slightly ahead of Susie, her pistol already in her hand, and she held her breath as she put her hand on the knob and slowly opened the door. She walked in with the barrel pointing into the room and immediately noticed the shattered dishes on the floor.

Susie walked past her toward the kitchen and made a disgusted noise that drew Maura toward her. She wrinkled her nose when she saw the molding and rotting food, flies buzzing about overhead while a quart glass of milk sat, soured, on the countertop. Tepid, murky water was still in the sink and the fridge stood open, showing more spoiled food to Maura and Susie.

Her stomach firmly in knots, Maura paced across the living room floor and wrenched open Jane's bedroom door, gun cocked and finger on the trigger as she searched inside the wardrobe and beneath the bed. She stood and observed the room at large, her worried gaze catching on an object so obviously out of place that it had to have been staged.

A teacup and saucer from the same set that lay shattered in the living room sat neatly in the middle of the crisply made bed. Inside the cup, a bar of the lavender soap Jane had in her bathroom nestled snugly, weighing down a note on the side of the fragile china.

 _Better hurry, Maura. Time grows short, and I'm an impatient person. My hand may slip if you take too long._

Maura saw red, and she picked up the cup and saucer and threw them against the wall in a fury, twisting on her heel to point at Susie. "Find her. _Now._ "

* * *

The pain had disappeared.

Mostly.

Between the pounding in her head and the fists that rained between her shoulders and on her back, she was achy and bruised, but the cold of the cellar numbed her to the worst of it.

She knelt on the dirt floor, hands and ankles bound, head bowed _don't forget to cross yourself, Janie_ and shoulders hunched, hair curtaining around her face as the last blow vibrated down to her marrow. Feet appeared in her line of sight, polished toes flecked with dust and water spots _rain, rain, go away_.

"Why can't you just submit, you dumb wop? Then all of this would stop." The voice _Hoyt Hoyt don't forget me Janie_ was saccharine, dripping with false sympathy and hiding poisonous depths beneath the high-class veneer.

"Keh…kiss my ass," she rasped to the floor. Her hair was grabbed and she was yanked to her feet, bare feet on weak legs trembling with the effort of standing as she stared into Hoyt's dead eyes with her bruised swollen bloody eyes.

"Such fire," he mused, reaching out with his other hand to cup her jaw. She flinched at his cold _fresh fish for a dime_ touch. "That's what first drew me to you, you know," he murmured. "I could see it where you were sitting with that blonde quaff. We were at the Omni Parker. She was undressing you with her eyes and you were laughing and beautiful and I knew I had to have you. You looked stunning in that coat and dress; the jewelry at your throat just tempting me to…" He licked his lips.

"And then I saw you with her again, outside her residence. Quite a nice place up on her Hill, private…isolated. And watching you struggle into your apartment with an armful of groceries? If I were more of a gentleman, I would have offered to help you." His hand gripped her throat again, fingertips sliding across familiar, bruised skin as his grip slowly tightened.

She gasped and clawed at his wool coat with numb dumb clumsy fingers. She didn't feel the cold, hard ground against her knees when her legs gave out or the new cuts on her legs when Hoyt roughly reattached the shackle that was hooked to a cast iron pipe to her ankle. "We'll break that bad habit soon, never you fear. You'll be mine in a while, but until then…" She whimpered against her will when she saw Hoyt standing by the lamp he had carried downstairs with him. "Goodnight, Janie."

The light went out.

* * *

Maura sped down the street, blatantly ignoring the speed limit and other vehicles on the road in the early morning hours as she skidded to a stop in front of her Beacon Hill house and threw herself out of the car. She slammed the front door open and burst into the kitchen, startling Kent, who dropped his cup of coffee, and Siobhán, who lifted her eyebrow with her cup poised near her lips and her pistol aimed at Maura from beneath the kitchen table.

"We need to go." She pulled Kent's half spilled cup out of his hands and drained the remainder, making a face at the over-sweet taste of sugar. "Now." She walked out of the kitchen to the sounds of scrambling feet.

"What's going on?"

"Jane is missing, we need to find her." Maura's voice was steady, but her hands trembled in her coat pockets, and her chin wobbled precariously for a moment. "Someone took her."

Siobhán appeared in front of her, worry creasing her face. "Wait just a moment, dear. What happened?"

Maura took a few precious minutes to relay what she and Susie found only a few hours beforehand. She got back into her car and Siobhán and Kent piled into the backseat. Susie, still looking faintly nauseated and afraid for her life, managed a wan smile when Kent squeezed her shoulder, and they took off again for Jane's apartment building.

"We need to talk to her neighbors, anybody who might have seen or heard anything," Maura said as they pulled up to the front of the building. The city was just waking up with the sun nearly fully above the horizon now, and a handful of people were walking on the sidewalk as cars rumbled slowly by. Maura jerked the keys out of the ignition and raced back up the stairs with her companions hot on her heels.

Siobhán and Kent surveyed the damage while Susie started knocking on doors, leaving Maura to anxiously finger a fraying string on her coat. Siobhán walked out of Jane's bedroom, appearing unrattled but for the tight clench of her jaw and stiff posture. "The dishes…the teacup-"

"The dishes were already broken when we got here. The cup – was set, _deliberately_ , in the middle of her bed. They left a note." Maura handed the crumpled note to Siobhán and watched her read it. "I want their head."

"We need to start with basics first, ducky." Siobhán smoothed back Maura's hair as she took a deep breath for Maura to mimic. "We'll talk to the neighbors, see what they know, okay?"

Maura nodded tersely as Kent reappeared and gestured at her to come his way. He led her into the living area and gestured at a space of the floor that was visibly disturbed. The area rug was half rolled up, the coffee table was askew, and the shattered china was disturbed from its normal scattering pattern. "What am I looking at, Mister Kent?"

"See how everything is moved? I think they fought." He knelt and pointed at some dark stains on the hardwood. "This is blood, more than likely. It's not a normal liquid," he said, demonstrating with a piece of china as he poked at the spots and a rich burgundy briefly appeared. "It's congealed, so it's been here a while. And I found _this_ gem under the rug." He pulled a piece of fabric from his pocket with a flourish.

Maura took it from him, noting the frayed edges like it had been torn, and the heavy, rich material. "This is high quality silk. Not many people can afford this, let alone wear it this late in the season." She rubbed the silk between her fingers contemplatively. "Somebody with money came here…took Jane – to get to me?"

She looked between Kent and Siobhán, who leaned int eh doorway. "Maybe someone you dropped for your skee?"

"None of them can afford _this_ ," she insisted, shaking the silk scrap. "None of my suppliers, current or previous, could wear this." All three of them looked stumped until Susie reappeared behind Siobhán.

"No one in the apartments next to her know anything, though one neighbor did say he thought he heard something break on Thursday night."

"That was almost three days ago," Kent said quietly.

Maura's blood ran cold at the implications, and she swallowed hard as she pushed her panic firmly down. "Talk to everyone in this building. I don't care if it takes all day, we are _not_ leaving until we know something."

* * *

It was hard to open her eyes.

Hard to move her fingers.

Hard to cough weakly into the cold, stale, dead air.

Harder to turn her head to the side to watch feet approach her.

Easy to let him pull her to her feet and lift her hands over her head _please no please_ to shackle them to the pipes that ran to the radiators on the first floor.

"Good morning, Janie."

Cold, soft fingers caressed her jaw and she could barely summon the energy to turn away, a bare breath on her lips as she made herself move against the suffocating lethargy in her limbs.

"Oh, now that isn't very _nice_ , is it?"

She cried out weakly as her hair was grabbed and her neck bared, something sharp _don't move don't breathe don't don't do stop it finish end don't_ pressed against her throat. "I thought the cold night would have readjusted your thoughts, but it appears I was wrong. Oh well." The faint tinges of excitement in Hoyt's voice made her tense, but nothing prepared her for the feeling of the scalpel sliding down over her collarbone, between her breasts and down her stomach to the waist of her pants.

"I have other methods to use."

She didn't feel the first cut, but felt something warm wash down her pants and let her head fall to see the warm blood soak into the cotton material. The second cut, just beneath the first, made her whimper, and the third made her cry.

"So beautiful." Hot, whiskey soaked breath made her flinch. The wet tongue that lapped at her tears made her shudder. The red-edged scalpel that threatened violence made tears leak from the corner of her eyes _big girls don't cry it hurts mama mama help mama stop it_. "Say yes, Janie."

"…n-no."

The single, whispered syllable cost her more precious energy, and she curled into herself as much as she could from her tied position as she felt the irritation from Hoyt. She coughed again and Hoyt scoffed in disgust.

"You just got your spit all over my coat, you dumb wop." Something that tasted of fabric and dust was shoved into her mouth and tied behind her head but her eyes had fallen shut, too tired to keep staring at the floor. "That should keep you from coughing all over me. Now, where were we?" She heard him hum contemplatively.

"I've always wanted to study the musculature of the back. Such a complex machine, the human body. So many moving parts, so many delicate, _nuanced_ aspects that drive the machine. I think it would be fascinating to see that work in motion, don't you?" The back of her shirt was shredded and the tip of the scalpel pushed against the nape of her neck.

"C6 vertebrae…T1. First rib."

The blade tip scratched across her shoulder.

"Trapezius. Deltoid."

Stinging pain lanced up and down her arm to her waist and she twisted in her binds. Her body was liquid fire, escaping through the lengthening line being drawn on her back, and a wrenching cry passed her dry, cracked lips, muffled by the gag.

"There we go. Beautiful." As another line was dragged down her skin, she went slack in her binds, legs jelly-like and arms jerking painfully as they took her full weight. "Ah ah ah, Janie. Stay with me, we have so much more to do together to _bond_."

She screamed into the gag as something was poured over the wounds, arching her back in an attempt to get away from the burning itching clawing sting. Her hazy eyes focused on her shadow before her, distorted from the flickering flame of the lamp. The shadow overlaying hers lifted its black arm, a barely-there shadow in its grasp, and the dark descended.


	8. Chapter 8

Maura raked her hand through her hair, sending the locks into further disarray as she leaned against the wall outside the apartment building and rolled a joint. Her shaking hands couldn't get her lighter to work and she was ready to throw everything on the ground when a small flame appeared in her vision, at the end of the joint. She gratefully lit up and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke for a long few seconds before exhaling.

Glancing aside at the hand holding the lighter, she was met with unkempt, greasy looking hair and equally greasy clothes. The man smiled toothily and spoke with a heavy Boston accent. "Lookin' mighty tight, miss," he said genially, offering a salacious wink that nearly made Maura curl her lip in a sneer.

"So's your old man," she muttered as she took another drag.

The man lifted his hands in surrender and backed up a step. "Hey, just appreciating God's beauty, miss. Name's Giovanni." He stuck a grease covered hand out to her and Maura cautiously shook it after a moment.

"So what brings a Jane like you out here? No offense, but you don't exactly look like our typical kind of people." He eyed her well cut suit and her car parked on the curb. "That's yours, isn't it?"

"It is."

"That's brand new! Mercedes…damn!" Giovanni whistled appreciatively as he circled the car and peeked inside. "What's under her hood?"

"A 6.2 liter straight six," Maura said slowly, pushing off of the wall with the joint still between her lips. She snorted when Giovanni groaned. "I can break seventy when I have her wide open." A louder, blush inducing sound escaped his throat and Maura smirked. "You like her?"

"God, she's got a great chassis! Reminds me of that swanky car I saw here Thursday! Damn, that was a beauty, too!"

Maura's ears perked up and her heart started to race. "What _exactly_ did you see," she asked with forced nonchalance.

Giovanni's eyes gleamed with awe as he leaned back against the wall. "Gorgeous car, miss, I'm tellin' you! Isotta-Fraschini, Ramseier body, '24, Tipo…Eight A, I think. God, she was stunnin', all sleek black body and polished chrome." He groaned again and nearly drooled as he lost himself in the memories. "Whoever's she is, they love her dearly."

Maura felt her blood burn through her as she considered her next move. "That sounds Italian," she said quietly.

"Oh, it is! Top of the line, too! Why, I heard that Hearst fella, the guy who runs all those papers, owns one! And that ethel, Rudolph Valentino, who's so hot with the ladies? He drives one, too! Maybe if I could get my hands on enough scratch, I'd drive one, myself."

Giovanni shot Maura a wry grin and shoved his hands into his pockets. "They cost a man a pretty penny, miss. No everyday Joe gonna drive that beauty."

"Thank you, Giovanni. You've been…extremely helpful." Maura was almost shaking as the adrenaline flooded her body, and she took a last, hasty drag on her joint before stubbing it out on the sidewalk and walking at a fast pace upstairs, where her crew was still knocking on doors.

"We've got a lead, let's go," she ordered, leading them down to her car and nodding at Giovanni before they peeled off the curb. "We need to go to City Hall, maybe we'll get lucky and the city will have registration for an Isotta-Fraschini," she said over the rumble of rubber on cobblestones. "That man leaning against the wall outside the apartment building said he saw one Thursday."

"And?"

"It's not a vehicle any mook can afford, so it shouldn't have been in this neighborhood." As she spoke, Maura drove past a rundown building covered in graffiti and Klan-used slurs. She made a disgusted sound as she swept onto the main road and headed toward City Hall. "Did any of you have any luck?"

"Other than a few people who say they _might_ have heard something, no."

"So we start with this, and see if anything sticks." Maura jerked the wheel to the side and everyone leaned hard as their momentum took them around a corner and past a slower driver.

"I know a few people who work here, I could get us in, no questions asked," Kent said. "Turn here, I know a clerk who has keys to get us into the building, _and_ she owes me a favor."

* * *

The judge sighed as he walked into his house, loosening his tie and tossing his house keys on the table nearby as he gratefully shrugged off his heavy coat. A board creaked behind him and he lazily turned on his heel, sure it was one of his staff coming to tell him dinner was still warm in the oven, and gasped when he came face to muzzle with a pistol. He opened his mouth to yell and grunted as something hit the small of his back. Pain lanced up and down his spine as he landed hard on his knees, gasping for air and screwing his eyes up to keep the tears in check.

"Knock, knock," came the wry voice standing behind him. "Sorry for the after-hours call, Your Honor, but we have some questions for you." The faint tap of boots on hardwood alerted him to someone's approach, but he didn't dare look up until shoes came into his sight in front of him. "Don't just act like a cuffed animal, sir," said a silky, dangerous voice. "Let me see your eyes."

Long, dainty fingers entered his view and he flinched against his will as they touched his face. His head was tipped back so he looked into flinty green eyes. "Now, you seem to be the proud owner of an Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A, is that right?"

"Yes, yes, take it, the keys are in the ignition-"

"I just want to know where it's been the last three days, sir." The woman tapped the muzzle of her weapon against his cheek almost playfully and he gulped hard.

"Here, here in the garage!"

"Oh, really?" Skeptical eyes darkened as an eyebrow lifted.

"I swear it, I do! I don't live far from City Hall, ma'am, and – and I've been taking advantage of these last few days of decent weather. Please, please, I'm telling the truth! Ask my manservant; he hasn't had to clean it in days! My wife, my maid – they all know I like to walk when I can!"

With a roll of her eyes, the woman pressed her gun against his forehead. He shut his jaw hard and felt warmth spread across his pants as the scent of urine slowly filled the air. Amusement glinted in her eyes as she pulled the hammer back on her pistol. "Oh, I believe you, sir. No need to be so…enthusiastic. But, you see, that leaves me with a problem?" \

The silence was clearly the point he was supposed to speak, and he did so haltingly. "A…a problem?"

"Yes, you see, it appears I've gone and terrorized the wrong sap. Whatever can I do about that now?"

"No-nothing! You don't have to do _anything_ , I didn't see anything, I promise! I just got home and set my keys down and was startled by a passing car, so I…so I wet myself." He flushed shamefully as she smiled, all dangerous edges and wild eyes, and rose smoothly to her full height.

"I think you're right, sir. Just a backfiring wagon, and a too-full bladder. Have a pleasant evening." Without another word, the woman and her two accomplices swept out his front door, and the judge laid his forehead against the floor for a long moment, muttering a thankful prayer beneath his breath and feeling his damp pants begin to cool uncomfortably.

* * *

Maura growled irately as they drove down the street. "God _damn_ it, this is our last chance, then I'm out of ideas."

Kent hesitantly laid his hand on her shoulder and pulled it back when she rolled her shoulder angrily. "We've already talked to the Police Commissioner and that judge last night, this man is the only other person who registered an Isotta-Fraschini in Boston, Maura."

His thick brogue curled warily around her name, and Maura growled again as her grip flexed on the steering wheel. "I _know_ that, Kent! But what do we do if this turns out to be another dead-end?"

"Then we look at other angles, Ducky," Siobhán urged gently. "We're not out of the game yet." Maura was silent as they drove into a wealthy neighborhood and up a winding drive to a sprawling house.

Maura got out of her car with Siobhán and Kent, leaving Susie in the passenger seat to wait for them, and they walked up to the front door with Maura stalking at the head of the trio. She banged on the door and, a few seconds later, a black man in a suit answered with a confused look on his face. "Can I help you?"

"We're looking for a Mister Barker?"

"What is your business?"

"It's personal."

With a dissatisfied look on his face, the man narrowed his eyes. "Mister Barker never said he was expecting visitors this morning."

"Oh, we were just in the area and decided to pop in for a cuppa," Kent piped in quickly, his hand discreetly on Maura's back to calm her. "Believe me, he'll want to see us."

"Just…wait here, please." The man let them into the foyer with a final, scrutinizing glance and disappeared into the depths of the house.

Kent and Siobhán immediately crept toward the staircase facing them and Maura pulled her pistol from underneath her coat, stalking upstairs with her companions on her heels. She tried a few different doors until she opened one that led into a study, which was lit with a few lamps and lined with books. Heavy velvet curtains were pulled over the entirety of one wall and two others were lined with books; a large desk sat front and center, and behind it, an older man wrote something in a notebook. "Davis, what is it?"

"Davis is indisposed," Maura said, prompting the man to look up quickly and jump up from his chair. She calmly pulled her pistol up to aim at him while Siobhán locked them inside the study.

Kent walked toward him and set his hand heavily on his shoulder so he landed haphazardly in his chair again. "Have a seat, Mister Barker," he said cheerily. "This won't take but a tick."

"What do you want?"

"Just a simple answer, Mister Barker." Maura walked up to the desk and set her weapon on the desk top. She watched his eyes flicker from her face to the gun and smiled toothily. "I wouldn't try that, my companions don't take too kindly to people handling what isn't theirs." She sat in a chair that Siobhán set behind her and crossed her legs comfortably. "Do you own an Isotta-Fraschini?"

"Yes?"

"And have you gone anywhere with it these past four days?"

"I go to work every morning; it's a twenty minute drive to the hospital." The doctor stammered and shook like a leaf as he answered, hands white knuckled on the arms of his chair.

Maura hummed as she leaned back. "Anywhere else?"

"No. No, only to the hospital and back."

"Are you sure that's the answer you want to give?"

"It's the truth!" He tried to get up and Kent nonchalantly pushed him back down.

Maura never moved, simply stared through him as she tapped her fingers on the desk. "You see, sir, I just don't know if I believe that. See, we took a gander at your swanky car on our way in, and found quite a bit of mud in the wheel wells. It looks like you took a Sunday drive into the country, Mister Barker, and that means that your story just doesn't. Add. Up." Maura tapped her finger on the arm of her chair with each word and her expression got darker suddenly.

She lunged at the desk and rested the muzzle of her pistol against his cheek almost lovingly, caressing his skin with the cool metal. "The funny thing is, Mister Barker, that I don't enjoy being fed a line. In my line of business, that sort of bushwa tends to make people end up dead." She pulled the hammer back and set her finger inside the trigger guard. "Now, let's try this again. Where have you been these past four nights?"

The doctor whimpered and gasped, eyes showing the whites as they rolled around the room wildly. "Only to work, I swear it! Please, I wouldn't lie about that! Please, please-"

"God, shut _up_ , man. You can't seriously expect me to believe the mud just _appeared_ , can you? Do you seriously take me for some dumb dora, fresh off the tit?" Maura's lip curled disdainfully and the man whimpered again.

Everyone jumped as a heavy fist pounded on the door suddenly. "Mister Barker, there's some suspicious people here, what do you want me to do?" Maura nodded at Siobhán, who wrenched the door open just as Maura sat back down with the pistol hidden in her coat pocket and Kent turned to stare at the spine of a book. The manservant stumbled into the room and gaped at the crowd, eyes roving across the faces until they landed on his employer. "Sir?"

"There's – there's nothing wrong, Davis, just some old friends catching up." There was a barely noticeable tremor in his voice and Davis eyed them all for a long second.

"Of course, sir. Do you want anything brought up for yourself or your…visitors?"

"No, no, we're good, right? We're all fine?"

Barker met Maura's eyes, and she smiled at him as she addressed Davis. "Everything is the bee's knees, Davis. We'll be out of your employer's hair shortly." Siobhán all but pushed him out the door, and they waited a tense minute before Maura spoke again. "Now that he's gone, let's continue. Let's posit that I believe you haven't taken the car outside the city. How do you explain its appearance then?"

"I…I haven't – I lend it out to my friends sometimes," Barker said quickly. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt. "If they want to impress their friends or go out on the town, I let them use it."

"Have any such friends used it?"

"I don't exactly keep a record of who drives my car, Miss."

"Well, you better think quickly before my finger slips, then, right?"

He swallowed and glanced off to the side. "My wife took it to get groceries Wednesday night…I took it Thursday morning to work, then – oh!" A hopeful look in his eyes, Barker leaned toward the desk. "An acquaintance of mine asked to borrow it for the evening! He said he needed to run an errand but would have it back before the morning."

"And who might this acquaintance be?"

"He's a judge at City Hall."

Maura's pulse quickened as she envisioned the pathetic man they had terrified the previous afternoon. "Short, fat, balding on top?"

Barker looked confused. "No? He's of average height. Grey hair, fairly trim. He likes to observe surgeries sometimes when he has a free morning, before court. Always asks the most fascinating questions and has – different views, sometimes." He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Definitely odd, eccentric, you see? But he's so curious about what we do, saving lives and helping people. It's flattering, we don't get many people who genuinely care about what we do."

"What is his _name?_ " Maura felt a tingle zip down her spine as Barker wet his lips nervously, eyes back on hers and throat bobbing as he swallowed.

"Charles Hoyt."

* * *

She stretched her trembling legs, biting her gag when her bloody bruised chafed wrists were jostled by her restraints. She went rigid with fear when she heard movement above her _run little rat run before I catch you_ and her vision tunneled as the now-familiar sound of the door opening reached her ears. She turned away from the light coming down the stairs and wrapped her fingers around the cuffs _my blood not mine not bleeding not cold not not frozen torn wrecked scared alone_ , ignoring the uncomfortable stretch of barely scabbed wounds on her back and sides.

"Good morning, Janie. And how was your night?" She hung her head, closing her eyes and swallowing dryly as she watched the lamp light stop moving and Hoyt's shadow moved larger and larger and monstrously disfigured. She stopped breathing when his fingers tripped over her neck and whimpered past her gag when his nail caught on a scab and tore it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," he said softly, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply. "Would you like to hear about my absolutely darb morning?"

She only shivered as his hands skated over her ribs.

"It's all going exactly to plan, my Janie. I went to the good doctor's house this morning to borrow his breezer and he had the most _fascinating_ story to tell me. Apparently," Hoyt's hands grabbed her hips possessively and fingers sunk into her skin bruisingly through her filthy pants, "your little girlfriend and her posse went and had a chat with him and he told them he so _generously_ let me borrow his posh car. The trap has been set, now the rats just need to walk in and trigger the spring."

With a happy hum, he let go of her and she shivered at the cold rush of air over her back. "She seems like an intelligent woman; shouldn't take her long to find my house, and the little note I left for her."

The sound of metal on wood _nails on a chalkboard fork tines on china squealing hinges_ made her flinch and her wrists ached faintly. Distantly, she felt the first cut of the blade into her back and grunted, swaying _too much beer stagger down the street New Years Eve kiss the girl kiss Charlotte not Charlotte dead Maura kiss her kiss of death_ and feeling her legs tremble. The line Hoyt was drawing down her back dug deeper and she cried out weakly, muffled by the fabric in her mouth.

"Oh, did you want to say something?" The gag was abruptly yanked down and her neck jerked painfully backwards as the knot was loosened. When it slipped out of her mouth, she wetted her dry, cracked lips and tongued a split in her lip. "Well, Janie? I'm waiting."

She stayed silent, unmoving _a boulder a wall a goddamn mountain don't bend don't break don't scream don't cry yell beg die_ until his flat grey eyes appeared in front of her.

"So quiet now." He pressed his thumb against her lips, hand almost lovingly cradling her jaw and she summoned all of her flagging strength to open her mouth and bite him hard. He yelled and she tightened the clamp of her jaw, eyes flashing _take that you sick bastard_ until sparks burst behind her eyes when his other hand cuffed her.

"You fucking bitch," he said lowly, dangerously. Something like glee flashed in his eyes and he chuckled dementedly. "Just when I think I've managed to tame you. If it weren't so _vexing_ , I would be impressed. Ah, well…" He sighed like he was disappointed and she spit in his face, watching a bloody wad of saliva slide down his chin with exhausted, furious defiance.

He grinned and his fist connected with her abdomen, making her cry out and go limp in her bonds. Her wrists ached and her shoulders screamed and she screamed and screamed and screamed as he made a cut just above her navel, then above that, then another until a ladder of small, precise, sluggishly bleeding wounds climbed the middle of her abdomen. The scalpel traced delicate, red lines _taillights don't leave don't go I'll behave I promise don't leave me alone_ up between her breasts to her clavicle and back down.

Hoyt lifted her lolling head by the chin and stared into her hazy dull pain-filled eyes. "I wonder if it's possible to hold a beating heart in one's hands," he said contemplatively. Hers started beating wildly, fear causing her pupils to dilate and her breathing to quicken, and he laughed meanly as his bloody finger smeared crimson across her throat. "I think I'll save that for the grand finale though, can't have the game ending too soon." He let her head go and her chin dropped to her chest, eyes staring at the bleeding wounds on her stomach.

She jerked when her hair was grabbed and her head pulled back, sputtering as a canteen was pushed between her bleeding lips and water _cold ice blessed cold wet rain in a desert_ flowed over her bone-dry tongue. She drank greedily until the canteen was empty, and then listened to Hoyt move behind her as the clotting wounds on her body began to ache and throb in time with her slowing heartbeat.

"I think I'll let you think about your predicament for the rest of today. I'll see you later, Janie. Dream of me."

* * *

Maura walked very calmly up to the front door of Hoyt's residence and put the butt of her pistol through the window beside it, reaching through to unlock the door and let herself in. Her companions trailed after her warily, eyes flickering from corner to shadowed corner to Maura, who stalked silently through the house with her hands in her pockets. Siobhán dropped a baseball amongst the shattered glass while Maura looked around. She glanced into empty rooms and walked upstairs, hand trailing along the banister until she reached the dark upstairs hallway. A window let in meager late autumn sunlight at the end of the hall, and several doors lined the carpeted corridor.

She peeked into a dusty spare room, a bathroom, and a lavishly decorated master bedroom. She walked into the room, eyeing the pale wallpapered walls, the gaudy lamps, and the artwork on the walls that made her skin crawl with the vague suggestion of violence contained within them. She put her hand on a doorknob on the far side of the room and twisted it, letting the door swing silently open to show a study. Velvet curtains were drawn back over massive windows to let the weak light spill across wood floors. A large oaken desk sat front and center, clear of anything except for a piece of paper set conspicuously in the middle of it.

Maura never glanced around at the walls full of medical texts and books with information about human biology and physiology, or the various skulls on display on the shelves next to old medical equipment, carefully polished to perfection, or the hand-drawn diagrams of organs with notes on the functions and placement of them. She picked up the paper and read through it; her hand began to tremble and her jaw set as her eyes went dangerously flat.

Meanwhile, Kent and Susie were rifling through the loose papers on the shelves, and Susie started opening drawers on a nearby cupboard. She whistled lowly as she pulled a white hood out of the back of a drawer, then some pamphlets which she tossed at Kent to peruse. His eyebrows lifted with each skimmed page, and he eagerly started pulling out drawers with Susie to look for more memorabilia.

With a toss of her hair, she swept out of the room with the paper clutched in her grasp. She grabbed Siobhán's arm and shoved the paper into her hand and waiting silently as she read it. Siobhán's head jerked up when she finished reading it and her lip curled. "So it's a trap then?"

"Without a doubt."

"Well, we can't just _hand_ you over!"

"We can still have the upper hand in this encounter, though."

"How do you figure that?"

"There are four of us, and one of him." Maura smiled darkly, eyes murderous and face set with determination. "I won't let him win. I'm going to mount his head on a pike for the city to see," Maura snarled darkly, eyes flashing dangerously as she bared her teeth at Siobhán.

Siobhán shook her shoulder and went toe to toe with Maura fearlessly. "You have to be _smart_ about it, you daft girl! You can't just throw yourself at him; you'll end up dead and six feet under, and then where will your Jane be? Eh?" She shook her roughly again and covered her mouth with her hand when she opened her mouth. "No, you had your chance, now shut your trap and open your ears. This address is out in the middle of bloody _nowhere_ ; how the hell are you going to find him! Just because he _left_ you a damn address doesn't mean spit! We could go on a trip for biscuits and not find a thing by morning, and where would we be then?"

"He wants _me_ , Siobhán!" Maura pressed her palm against her chest and lifted the paper. "He's so confident that he gave me his location; he obviously thinks he has the upper hand."

"And how do you know he doesn't? If he's so smart, he probably set a trap."

"No, I don't think so." Maura took a deliberately deep breath to calm herself down and studied the note again. "Confident, yes. To the point of arrogance, obviously. Following that logic, he would think himself capable enough to take me on his own."

"But he must know you'd be coming with others," Siobhán insisted. "He wouldn't be so foolhardy to risk the entire endeavor on his _pride._ "

"He also wouldn't want to draw too much attention to himself," Maura rebutted. "Say you're correct; he would bring one, maybe two people into his circle. You three are more than enough to take care of them while I kill that bastard." Heat entered Maura's voice again as her hands curled into fists.

Siobhán stared hard at her for a long moment, then sighed and nodded. "Alright, ducky, alright. We'll do it your way. _But,_ you better not take any wooden nickels, girl; if you get dead I'll string your body up next to his on City Hall's front steps."

Maura paled at the promise and nodded decisively. "I'll show this city what happens to those who think they can threaten me," she promised, showing a bit of teeth as she smiled darkly, and swept out of the room, leaving a chill lingering on the air that made the other three catch each other's eyes warily before they followed her out.

* * *

The clatter of footsteps woke her from an uneasy sleep, her shoulders past burning and aching and long settled on numb as she remained suspended from the piping overhead. Hoyt appeared at the bottom of the steps with an excited _middle of summer and the ice-cream truck appears at the corner_ bounce in his step and behind him, another person paused at the foot of the stairs.

"Keep your eyes open; if she's as quick witted as they say, she'll be here within the day. Prove to me that your boasts about your weapons skills aren't just empty words, and you'll gain a most favorable position in the Klan; I will personally endorse you." He dismissed the person without another word and his eager _hungry anticipatory desirous_ gaze landed on her. She tensed as much as her half-frozen muscles would allow her to and shrunk back into the shadows some more.

"Oh, Janie, Janie," he drawled. "Your heater packing skirt is on her way to rescue you; the valiant knight coming on quickest steed to save her rebellious Moll from the dragon." He laughed meanly and grasped her cheeks in his hand, forcing her head up. "You should feel flattered, really. The fact that little quiff has been so _determined_ to find you that she's risked the ire of the upper echelons…" Hoyt snorted as he shoved her face away, watching her sway in her restraints with a perverse enjoyment in his normally flat grey eyes.

"It's almost five in the afternoon; that gives me plenty of time to get ready." She heard everything he said as if from down a long tunnel or _marco polo can't catch me can't find me you're it_ underwater. Her chin sunk toward her chest as a labored breath, laced with a cough, wracked her body. She trembled when she felt the _ice down her shirt electrical shock fingers tripping down her spine like ghosts_ sensation of the scalpel wending playfully across her back again and flinched when several scabs opened up.

"Janie, Janie; you're positively shivering. Are you cold?" The point of the scalpel dug into her hip and she whined. "Ah, you're thinking of your girl. Ah, to be young and in _lust_." The scalpel dug harshly into her skin and she screamed, jerking in the cuffs as she tried to escape the blinding burning ripping pain.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts, but don't get too comfortable, Janie." With a final, gentle caress of her cheek that she violently jerked away from, Hoyt left the cellar, taking the lamp with him and leaving her in the dark again.

 _Don't leave me alone I don't like the dark don't like the skittering scratching rats crawling on my feet nibbling ripping tearing licking at my blood my life my skin…_

* * *

It was nearly midnight by the time they found the road of the address left for Maura, and she insisted that they walk the rest of the way. "Can't make it _too_ easy for the bastard," she said quietly. Everyone piled out of the car and kept their weapons close to hand, following Maura as she stalked silently down the dirt road beneath the dim light of the waxing moon that was being obscured by rising clouds. A cold wind whipped across the barren fields lining the road, stirring up a light dusting of snow and sending their coattails flapping wildly.

"Bloody damn _cold_ , who the fuck thought this was a good idea?" Kent muttered as he pulled his woolen coat closer around himself and yanked the collar up. Susie smacked the back of his head, shooting a dark look his way, and he shrugged. "Not saying we shouldn't be doing this, but it's damn inconvenient that the bastard decided this time of year was a good one to go off his rocker."

"Hush, we're here." They stopped close to an old farmhouse, the nondescript building looming darkly beneath the moonlight. A crumbling barn sat desolately behind it, fieldstones lining the driveway and marking their way like a beacon.

"What's the plan, ducky?" Siobhán caught Maura's elbow before she could walk any further and pulled them off the road. "We can't just go in blind; we'll get shredded, and I don't fancy going home in a pine box."

Maura sighed as she regarded the darkened windows. "Two in the front door, two out back. Be quiet, search the place room by room. And for God's sake, don't shoot any of us, Kent." He only shrugged again while Susie smirked, and they split up.

* * *

Terms:

Tight - attractive

Ethel - effeminate male

Scratch - money

Mook - idiot

Sap - fool

Wagon - vehicle, usually older

Swanky - fancy

Feed a line - lie to

Bushwa - bullshit

Dumb Dora - stupid female

Darb - great

Breezer - ragtop

Trip for biscuits - wild goose chase

Don't take any wooden nickels - don't do anything stupid

Heater packing skirt - gun carrying female

Moll - gangster's significant other

Quiff - whore


	9. Chapter 9

Couple things: one, this is the penultimate chapter. **Do you guys want the final one Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or the following day?** Two, writing this chapter and the next was extremely cathartic for me, I hope you enjoy it as well.

Read on!

* * *

Sometime later, she jerked back to alertness as steps clamored loudly downstairs. Hoyt, looking a little disheveled, grinned manically and crossed toward her. "The house is being approached by her and her oafish cronies. My man upstairs should have no problem disposing of them, but I've told him to leave her for last. I want the pleasure of breaking her myself."

He dragged his fingertip down a bloody line on her chest. "It will be a shame to end this game, but the payout will be well worth the effort. Imagine," he exclaimed, "after I bop off that rum-running bunny and the city knows that, I can run for office. _Mayor_ Charles Hoyt; prohibition enforcer, nationalist, patriot…has quite the ring to it, doesn't it? And all the while, I can keep the city clean of degenerates and outsiders who would only remove job opportunities for native born, American citizens."

His lip curled as he took a fistful of hair in his hand and pulled her head back. "It's almost a shame," he murmured as his eyes catalogued her features. A fear unlike any other filled her _venom poison insidious creeping unstoppable_ as his sweet smelling breath washed over her face. "It's too bad you're a wop; you're quite attractive and, under different circumstances, I would take _great_ pleasure showing you off to my compatriots in the Klan."

Above them, there was a metallic ring and a hard thud, and Hoyt chuckled. "And the rats slunk arrogantly the trap without a thought for the consequences," he muttered. "Now we wait for the perfect opportunity."

His eyes gleamed as he turned down the lamp until it was but a miniscule flame that danced _hips swaying bright smile holding hands_ with the wind that whistled through a crack in the wall somewhere.

* * *

Siobhán trailed after Maura while Kent and Susie crept around the back of the house. Maura stopped next to a covered machine and pulled the tarp back, revealing the doctor's expensive vehicle. "Of course," she said with a sneer.

"Look, ducky." In the backseat, a coil of rope and a bag overflowing with medical equipment lay alongside some bloody rags, and Maura's breath caught. She forced herself to breathe and steady her suddenly trembling hands, then shook off Siobhán's concerned grasp and snuck up to the front door. They found the knob easily turned under Maura's hesitant grasp, and walked inside to a darkened foyer. Dust clung to fixtures and a few empty frames still on their nails, and the wind echoed outside with a mournful howl.

"Stay close," Maura whispered as she pulled her pistol out from under her coat and cocked it. They silently searched the front of the house, and Maura nearly had a heart attack when she swept around a corner and almost ran into Susie, who put her hands up immediately and widened her eyes.

"Jesus," she breathed out, eyeing the muzzle of the pistol warily until Maura lowered it a fraction. "Nothing out back, and the outhouse was empty, too."

"Upstairs, then."

All four of them swept back toward the front of the house, and the stairs that were set alongside the frame that led to a dilapidated kitchen, and Kent led the way, stepping quietly up to the landing and sweeping his pistol across the space before gesturing for the others to follow him. Maura told Susie and Siobhán to stay downstairs just in case in a hushed tone and followed Kent, tapping his shoulder when she reached him.

They cleared the rooms efficiently, testing each step they took even though the wind was picking up outside and their sight was slowly being obscured by an approaching snowstorm. Cold rattled around the loose window panes and flooded the house, making their breath mist in front of their faces and pinkening their noses as they slunk back downstairs, where Susie and Siobhán were looking alertly around. "Nothing upstairs," Kent whispered. "Think there's a cellar?"

"There must be. Maybe outside? We searched the entire downstairs."

"They wouldn't have the only entry outdoors, that wouldn't make sense for winter."

"A trap door, then? Where?"

"Kitchen, probably."

"The table," Maura muttered, realizing she had seen some scuff marks that didn't belong when she swept through the room. She and Kent stood at either end of the heavy oaken table that was pushed against the inside wall and lifted, straining beneath its weight, and shuffled carefully to the side until a well hidden door came into view. Maura leaned down to grasp the heavy iron wrought ring and pulled experimentally, growling when it didn't give.

Kent gently urged her out of the way, smiling tensely. "Sometime, you just need a little elbow grease," he whispered as he grabbed the ring. He pulled, harder and harder, and grunted when the ring came loose from the rotted wood around it and he lost his balance. He landed hard on his backside, the ring skittering away into the darkness with a clatter, and everyone froze as the house seemed to hold its breath. Kent winced under their looks and gestured helplessly at the still shut door. "I didn't _know!_ "

"Well, it's too late now; if we're lucky, he isn't down there and we haven't lost the element of su-"

The creak of wood on unoiled hinges made Maura go still. The rush of wind around the house covered any other ambient noise, but an unsettling feeling niggled at the back of her mind, making the hairs on her body rise and her eyes dart across the shadows. A faint movement in her periphery caused her to whip her head around, hand swinging fluidly as she pulled the trigger with deft ease, and she ducked a moment later, listening to the deafening sound of pistol fire as a cabinet door swung wildly when it was hit by a bullet.

Everyone scattered across the kitchen while Maura chanced darting to the wall by the door and peeked out just to swing back when the flash of metal became visible. She winced as a chunk of the door jamb was hit by a bullet and the shrapnel bit into her cheek and blindly returned fire around the corner as Susie and Siobhán sunk out of a window Siobhán broke with the butt of her rifle.

Kent crawled up next to her and met her eyes with a flat stare, pressing a wad of cloth into her hand before he stepped out into the doorway and fired into the dim great room. Maura grabbed his coattails and yanked him hard to the ground just as more bullets went whizzing overhead and smacked him hard on the back of the head. "You futzing fopdoodle, I need your empty head _on_ your shoulders, not spattered across the walls!"

"I was trying to buy time!"

"What the hell for?!"

"Them!"

The telltale _crack_ of Siobhán's rifle broke their bickering, and the comparatively small _pop_ of Susie's pistol was nearly covered by the return fire of the unknown person caught between them. Kent and Maura just slunk further down the wall, unwilling to attempt to hit the person in fear of injuring their friends.

There was a grunt, nearly covered by the sound of gunfire, and then a louder cry of pain, followed by a couple stray bullets that tore through the wrecked kitchen before a deafening silence overtook the house.

Maura and Kent stared at each other for an interminable minute before Maura opened her mouth. "Susie? Siobhán?"

A few long seconds passed before Susie's quiet voice answered them. "Over here. By the back door."

Maura carefully stood up and squinted into the dark room, just able to see a dark shadow prone on the floor, and the open door beyond them that was letting in the blowing snow. She stopped long enough to crouch by the body and feel for a pulse before walking to the door and freezing in her tracks.

* * *

She bowed her head and listened to the wind that suddenly sounded so much louder than before until a sound like a gunshot shattered the tense calm. Several more followed in quick succession, scattered amongst the sound of harried footsteps and shattering wood, and she flinched with each concussive sound. Hoyt seemed remarkably unworried as he simply twirled a scalpel around his fingers. A couple minutes later, someone cried out in pain as they hit the floor, and an unsettling calm overtook the house.

 _Hold your breath don't look just wait be calm be quiet be safe just wait just pray just ask please ask please live._

Hoyt's fingers paused and the scalpel shone weakly in the dim light. Quiet footsteps _one two more than one not one but two_ echoed overhead and he sighed as he pushed away from the stone wall behind her. "Ah, well, seems that he didn't quite do the job. I have a fail-safe though, not to worry, Janie."

He walked over to her and set his hand over her mouth, muffling the panicky noises she started making. "I just need you," he murmured against her cheek, "to be quiet, and _pliant_." The scalpel slid beneath her skin with terrifying ease, stealing her breath and any notion of resistance as her voice echoed behind the barricade of Hoyt's palm. She cried out weakly when he twisted the scalpel and then drew it out with agonizing slowness, feeling the warm wash of blood over her frozen skin as the wound ran freely.

"That should do wonderfully. Now, the bait is ready, and the prey should arrive any moment. Be a dear and hold your tongue another minute, Janie." He patted her cheek as he turned the lamp up again and melted into the shadows, and she slumped over, panting harshly as her eyesight went dimmer and dimmer.

* * *

A long smear of blood, nearly black with the lack of light, ran gruesomely down the dirty wall, and beneath it, Siobhán leaned heavily. Her face was pasty and drawn and her breathing labored as Susie frantically pressed a wad of cloth against her chest. Maura fell to her knees next to them and swatted away Susie's hands, replacing them with her own so she could push against the wound. Blood washed over her hands and Siobhán gasped with pain, clutching weakly at her arm as her eyes fluttered.

"Don't you _fucking dare_ die on me. I swear to God, I will hurt you so much if you leave me." Maura's voice broke part way through as her eyes filled with tears, and Siobhán flashed a smile her way.

She lifted a trembling, bloody hand to cup Maura's cheek, stroking her skin and leaving a dark smear behind as her other gently grasped Maura's hand that was pressed against her chest and eased it away. "Jackass got off a lucky shot. But I got him in the end…that's what matters. You're safe, and you're going to get – your girl back. That – _that matters, Maura._ " Siobhán wiped away the tears trailing down Maura's face, breath rattling in her chest and stuttering as her grip got weaker and weaker. "Take my rifle. Kill him. Be…be happy, my darling girl."

"Please don't," Maura whispered.

"Sorry, love. Don't have a choice…wish I did. Tell Sarah – love her."

" _You_ tell her, _please_."

Siobhán laughed quietly and it trailed off into a hacking cough that left blood flecked on her lips. "Love you, too. All of…you. always. L – love…" Siobhán's eyes rolled back in her head and her hand dropped limply from Maura's face as she slumped lower against the wall.

A quiet, broken wail disturbed the sudden silence and Maura's shoulders shook as she covered her mouth with her hand and cried. Susie and Kent leaned into each other, taking solace in their twined fingers as Maura grasped at Siobhán's coat and hand, fingers skittering here and there in confusion and grief.

"Please don't leave me…please, please, I'm sorry, I love you, please come back…"

Grief hung over them for several minutes, until Maura wiped her tears away with bloody hands and leaned in to grace Siobhán's cooling cheek with her lips, leaning her forehead against her temple and whispering quietly for a moment before she pushed herself to her feet and grasped her rifle in her hands.

When she turned, her expression was set and, though her eyes were pink and her cheeks tear streaked, she looked frightening and determined with the bloody streaks like war paint across her temple and jaw, and rage glinted behind the sorrow like a storm. "I'm going to kill him and string his body up in front of City Hall for the entire city to see. No one messes with my family and lives to tell the tale.

"Susie, stay here and make sure no one but me or Jane comes through the trapdoor. Kent, stay outside the outer door. If anybody comes out of that cellar who isn't me or Jane, shoot them in the head." Maura's voice was cold as she walked out the door and she brusquely shook off Kent's hand when it landed on her arm.

"Maura, maybe-'"

"I need to do this, now."

"Alone?"

"I am not risking anyone else tonight," she growled.

"Only your own well-being?"

"I only have to worry about myself." She turned and they were surprised by the grief creeping in around the corners of her eyes. "I can't fall apart until this is over, and I can't afford to worry about either of you down there. I don't trust him to not have laid a trap, and I simply won't put you in harm's way. So, you'll stay up top, no matter what you hear, okay? Promise me."

"Promise us you'll come back," Kent retorted.

"I can't."

"Then neither can we," he said stubbornly. "If we hear something fishy, you can bet your best pony we'll be down there, guns blazing." Beside him, Susie was nodding in agreement. Maura felt a wave of affection for them and threw her arms around them both. After a startled moment, she was surrounded by warmth and burrowed into Kent's shoulder as her hand cupped the back of Susie's neck to tug her closer.

"I'll try to come back, but if nothing else, I'm going to snuff out that animal before I go down." They nodded silently and Maura hefted Siobhán's rifle after checking the fifteen-round magazine and pulling back the slide to make sure the next round was chambered in the weapon. "Be back in a tick, you won't even miss me."

She threw a rogueish wink at them and strode outdoors, taking a steadying breath as she stopped outside the weathered cellar door. She met Kent's eyes and nodded, then wrenched open the door and stepped aside in the same motion. She waited a beat, then two, and slowly turned her sights down the stairs, lit from somewhere within the cellar.

With an apprehensive breath, Maura crept down the stairs with the rifle raised against her shoulder and shivered as the smell of iron overtook her senses. Her eyes adjusted to the single lantern hung from a hook in the middle of the cellar and her gaze swept across the mostly empty space, slipping over rusted pipes and cobweb dusted corners before alighting on a shadowed figure on the far side.

"What…"

As she stepped onto the hard packed dirt floor, something hit her from behind and Maura stumbled a couple steps. She twisted awkwardly on her heel and heard a grunt as the end of Siobhán's rifle connected with flesh. She looked up into flat, grey eyes as Hoyt reeled and pulled the trigger, the crack of gunfire deafening in the stone enclosed cellar. Hoyt's face twisted in rage and pain as he rushed her, bearing her down to the floor with his weight and wrenching the gun out of her grasp with an elbow to her ribs. She gasped for air and barely managed to fend off Hoyt's thrown punch, bucking her hips sharply to force him off her.

She got to her feet and smirked when she noticed he was favoring his leg, grimacing at the blood staining his pants, and rushed him once more. They landed in a pile of limbs and curses near the wall, rolling over each other as they struggled to get the upper hand. Maura yelped as her hair was pulled and shoved her palm at Hoyt's face, hearing the satisfying sound of cartilage breaking and feeling the warm wash of blood over her chest as he yelled and hit her hip with his knee as he retreated.

"You fucking bitch," he said nasally as he cradled his face. "I'm going to enjoy breaking your bull dagger 'friend' once I've strung your liquor toting ass up on a pole."

"You won't lay another finger on Jane," Maura swore.

"You won't be able to stop me," Hoyt said with glee, smiling darkly around his bloody nose. "First, I'm going to enjoy her properly once I've disposed of you. I might keep her around for a while before she expires, and then I'll take great pleasure in holding her heart in my hands as it beats its last beats."

Maura roared with rage and tackled him, bearing him to the ground and throwing a couple hard punches that dazed him. She kicked him in the side as she scrambled to her feet and ran for the limp figure on the edge of the lamp light, nearly missing a step as Jane's bruised and bloody body came into view.

" _Jay_ , Jane, Jay, look at me, darling. I'm here, I'm right here, I've got you now." Maura cradled Jane's face in her hands, stroking her thumbs beneath her dark, vacant eyes, and pressed her dry, cracked lips to Jane's temple. "I've got you now." She pulled on the cuffs chaining Jane to the pipes overhead. They rattled but didn't loosen, and Jane whimpered, a tiny, barely audible sound that broke Maura's heart.

"I'll get you down, I promise." Maura's hand slid around Jane's waist lightly, pausing as her fingers slid across shredded fabric. She pulled her hand away and was horrified to see fresh blood on her skin, looking up in time for Jane to cough hard and groan in pain.

"Maur…Maur – miss you-"

"Oh, darling…"

Maura's throat closed up, and she brushed her fingers over Jane's cheek again, feeling the heat radiating off her in the frigid cellar. She heard a sound behind her and turned in time for something to hit her jaw and send her reeling. She slammed into some pipes and felt the breath leave her lungs with the impact.

Hoyt hefted the board with deadly intent as he advanced on her. "One of the few things that wop is good for besides my own research into the human body; she's become quite pliable with some instruction."

Maura felt her rage burn hotter with each word and a dangerous calm overtook her as he smiled coldly. Her head cleared suddenly as he lifted the blood flecked board viciously and grinned triumphantly. The board seemed to descend in slow motion and she charged at him while his guard was open, throwing her arms around his waist and bearing him to the ground with a heavy thud. Her knees dug painfully into his stomach and chest while she wrestled the board from his grasp and pinned his hands, taking a vicious punch to her torso before managing to grasp his free arm. He spat a wad of blood and saliva at her, but Maura only stared blankly down at him as the spit slid down her cheek.

"What are you going to do now, mick? The cops will be on your gang like flies on shit if you kill me; I've got this city in my pocket, there won't be a rat hole deep enough for you to hide in," he said vehemently.

Maura sat back on her heels and smiled darkly, reaching out for the abandoned board as he spat and cursed at her. "See, Mister Hoyt, the thing you've failed to realize is that I _am_ this city." She very calmly studied the bloody edge of the board, feeling her jaw throb sympathetically. "I know these people who live in it; I decide their rent, I provide their drink, I pay their salaries. If you think you're the only one with contacts within the police department or judicial system, then you've been sampling too much of your own dope. You and I, we've been needing a reckoning for some time now."

She almost lovingly pressed the edge of the board against his temple, tapping it thoughtfully. "I won't feed you a line, this won't be particularly pleasant. You won't walk out of here on your own feet tonight; but you will leave this cellar. I, however, will be taking my strong bearcat away from here where she can learn to live out from beneath your shadow.

"And, Mister Hoyt?" She tipped his chin up with her finger, smiling in a predatory manner at his flat gaze. "I will take _great_ pleasure in this." Without another word, the board smashed against his jaw with a wet, crunching sound, and he made a pain-filled noise that inflated Maura's chest with adrenaline.

She hit him again, watching his blood spray across the ground as he gasped in pain. After another hard hit that made him go quiet and still but for the faint rising and falling of his chest, Maura got up and kicked him hard in the jaw. "That was for Jane and Siobhán, you bastard." She searched his person for a key to the cuffs and came up with them in hand with a victorious sound.

She quickly unlocked a cuff and barely managed to catch Jane's weight as she collapsed without the chains holding her upright, lowering her carefully to the ground and leaning her against the wall. "Jane? Jane, don't you dare die on me." She tapped Jane's cheek and waited for her eyes to flutter open, smiling wanly down at her. "Hello, darling."

"Maur?"

"Yeah, it's me." Maura felt tears fall down her face as she cradled Jane's head in her lap and smiled tearfully down at her. "I've got you, you're going to be fine now."

"H – how? Hoy – he, I…"

"It's okay, I promise." Maura pressed trembling lips to Jane's forehead and grasped a limp hand in hers to massage the feeling back into it. "Susie and Kent are here, too, they're going to help us. It's all going to be alright."

Jane whimpered as the feeling slowly came back into her hand, and flexed her fingers around Maura's hand before she switched to the other. "You – came for me?"

"I know everything about you," Maura said gently. "Hell, bearcat, I could find you in the dark." Maura was studying her features, noting each blemish and marked inch of skin.

She startled when Jane made a panicked noise and lunged at Maura from her prone position, knocking her backwards with a pained grunt. Maura felt disturbed air overhead and got an inverted view of Hoyt swinging the board over her head with a pained snarl on his bloodied features.

Jane yanked her hand out of Maura's inner jacket pocket and lifted her pistol with shaking arms, pulling the trigger several times at point blank range. Hoyt fell backwards without a word, limbs akimbo as he gasped for air and clutched at his shredded chest before falling silent and staring sightlessly up at the wooden beams overhead. Jane dropped the pistol from nerveless fingers and swayed on the spot until Maura eased her back to the ground, removing her coat without a word to drape over Jane's shivering body as she yelled up to Susie and Kent.

* * *

The city of Boston woke bright and early to nearly a foot of fresh snow on the ground and began the slow task of clearing the streets. The laborers waded through the heavy, wet snow with grumbling and pink cheeks as a cold wind nipped at their flapping coattails, clutching their hats to their heads as they dodged deep drifts and leapt away from the few cars sliding on the road. One such worker, a young, tow-headed woman with worried creases in the corners of her eyes and blue-tipped fingers, slogged along in her boots toward City Hall.

She was ascending the stairs when something caught her eye, half buried beneath the snow on the steps. Worried a vagrant had frozen on the steps overnight, she walked over to it and leaned down to dust off the shape with trepidation. As a disfigured, waxen face came into sight, she reeled and screamed, drawing the attention of passersby, who all gathered round to goggle and exclaim over the body found on the steps.

 _ **JUDGE'S BODY FOUND ON CITY HALL'S STEPS**_

 _ **Early Tuesday morning, after an unusually heavy snowfall, the Honorable Judge Charles Hoyt was found dead on the front steps of City Hall by clerk Amy Davies. Miss Davies was walking to work when she discovered the body and police promptly arrived to cordon off the scene. Coroners were able to discern that multiple gunshot wounds were the cause of death, though the time of death has not been determined as the recent cold snap influenced rigor of the body. Klan memorabilia was found on the Judge's person, though speculation abounds whether it was planted or, in fact, belonged to Mister Hoyt. Anyone with information is asked to dial the Boston Police…**_

* * *

Terms:

Bop off - murder

Rum-running - moving alcohol

Bunny - female, usually derogatory

wop - derogatory term for Italian

Futzing - fucking

Fopdoodle - moron, idiot, fool (take your pick)

Snuff out - murder

Bull dagger - lesbian

Mick - derogatory term for Irish

Dope - loose term for drugs

Feed you a line - lie

Bearcat - feisty woman


	10. Chapter 10

Alright, here it is! Thank you guys for taking the time to read this story and share your thoughts with me. Y'all are seriously the best, putting up with me being away for an extended period of time, and I appreciate you so much! I hope you guys have a wonderful holiday, regardless of how you celebrate it, and if you don't at all, I hope your day is peaceful. Be safe out there, have fun, and, as always...

Read on!

* * *

Maura awoke to Jane thrashing in bed and quickly turned the light on as she laid her hand over Jane's chest. "Jay," she whispered, "wake up, darling, it's just a dream. You're safe, Jay, but you're going to rip your stitches. Jay, please." She continued using Jane's name and kept her hand on her chest, feeling her breathing stutter as her eyes opened suddenly and she stared up at the ceiling in confusion for a long moment.

Dark eyes, ringed with shadows from too many sleepless nights, flicked over to her face as comprehension dawned and her mouth opened for a wracking cough. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay, you're safe. You're home, do you remember? We left the hospital three days ago once the doctors were satisfied you were healing well and your fever was under control."

Jane nodded slowly and gestured at the cup of water on the bedside table. Maura let her sip slowly from it and set it back on the table, helping Jane to sit up slightly and sliding another pillow behind her back to keep her upright. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was just…him. Again." Teary eyes wouldn't meet hers, and Maura's heart broke as she gently eased Jane's lower lip out from between her teeth, rubbing her thumb over the cracked skin while she waited for Jane to calm some more. "He keeps haunting my thoughts. I killed…" She swallowed and held her trembling hands in her lap like she could still see the pistol in her grip. "I killed him," she whispered.

Maura watched a tear fall off the edge of her nose onto the duvet and slid closer. Her fingers burrowed into the thick mass of riotous curls so she could knead the tension from her neck. "I wish you didn't have to do that. But, Jane, you _saved_ me. You kept _us_ safe. And, my fierce bearcat, you got rid of a true monster. He has no power over you, do you hear me?" She took Jane's chin in her fingers and waited for her gaze to lift. "He has only as much power over you as you let him. Let the dead lie, darling; the living are _here, now_."

Silence reigned as brown eyes searched hazel. Maura's back was beginning to stiffen when Jane leaned into her, forehead pressed against her shoulder and arms winding around her waist. "I really love you sometimes, ya know?"

Shock froze Maura for a second, then she melted against Jane. "I'm so goofy for you, it's disgusting," she murmured. She pressed her lips to Jane's temple and inhaled her clean, lavender scent.

"Can I get some cash?"

"Bank's closed til you're better," Maura said. "I don't want to risk you getting sick again. It took so long for you to get to this point; I'd rather wait until you've stopped coughing and can stand without looking like a foal on its first legs." She worked up a smile at Jane's pout and bussed her temple again. "Let's go back to sleep, Jay. Morning is still a long ways off."

* * *

Jane sat at the kitchen table, sipping some coffee and wincing as she shifted and the stitches dotting her back pulled painfully. She swallowed the brew and sighed as her throat complained a little, but hummed when Maura leaned in the doorframe and knocked on the wood with a charming smile on her lips. "Morning, Maura."

"Jay. You're looking dapper this morning." Chapped lips bussed her temple as Maura got a cup out of the cupboard and sat down next to her with steam curling from the mug. She gently nudged Jane's leg and glanced up and down at her snappy button down and suspenders loosely pulled over her shoulders. They sat in companionable silence as they sipped their drinks; Jane jumped when the door slammed and her coffee nearly sloshed over the rim. "It's okay, Jay, it's only Susie and Kent."

"Where did they go this early? I thought those two owls didn't know this time of day even existed."

Kent walked into the kitchen with a dramatic pout on his face and a hand on his chest. "I'm wounded, Jane, _wounded_ , I say! Here Susie and I went to such trouble for you-"

"Excuse me?"

Kent grinned and nodded at the door, snickering when Jane's jaw dropped. Frost and Korsak hovered in the opening with relief and fear in their eyes, no doubt cataloguing the myriad bruises and cuts on Jane's exposed skin. " _Guys_." Jane got up with a little effort and hobbled over to them, throwing her arms around their shoulders and pulling them close. They closed their arms around her waist immediately, Frost grinning almost manically as his eyes welled up while Korsak brushed back her wild hair and murmured into her ear with his eyes shut.

Maura sat back contentedly as they held the embrace for another long moment and Susie snuck past them, grasping greedily at the coffee that had been in Kent's hands and sipping it with a groan. "It should be illegal to get up before seven, boss," she muttered, eyeing Maura balefully and ignoring Kent's dismayed cry.

"It's worth one night's missed sleep, Susie."

"My coffee!"

* * *

Maura and Jane stood side by side with Susie and Kent as the coffin was lowered into the half-frozen, snow covered ground, all solemn faced and standing shoulder to shoulder across from the priest who had said his prayers over the casket. He left with a hushed murmur of well wishes to Maura and they stood silently as some grave diggers began shoveling ice and dirt on top of the coffin. Jane twisted her fingers through Maura's, squeezing gently and biting her lip when Maura returned the gesture faintly.

Once the men left, they seemed to relax and Maura let a tear streak down her cheek. Jane gathered her into her arms, cradling the back of her head against her shoulder so Maura had a dark place to cry. Her hands twisted through Jane's long coat, holding them together as her shoulders shook. Kent and Susie ducked their heads, he brusquely wiping away a tear from his cheek while she sniffed forlornly and kept sneaking glances at the freshly turned dirt.

There was some shuffling behind them after a while, and everyone turned to find a young brunette with wildly wavy hair and a dodgy, sorrow-filled expression on her face lingering behind them near another tombstone. "Uh…'lo. Maur, I, uh – yeh."

Her heavy English accent and red-rimmed eyes threw Jane, but the others apparently knew the young woman as they swarmed her. Jane found herself tugged along behind Maura by the hand to the young woman, who was wrapped into a hug by Maura.

" _Sarah_."

"Um, hey, I jus'…I'm sorry I'm late," she mumbled into Maura's shoulder as she hugged her back with one arm. "I was comin' to – I had somethin' to show her, but…guess that's not happenin' now." Sarah wiped at her eyes and sighed, meeting Maura's gaze again. "I can introduce you though. This is my daughter…Kira." She pulled her arm out from behind her back and a small girl, barely three by the looks of her, gradually came out from behind her coat. She stared up at the adults with wide brown eyes and rubbed beneath her nose with her fist.

Maura got down on her knees and extended her hand toward Kira slowly with a trembling smile. "Hello, sweetie. I'm Maura."

"This is your auntie Maura, baby, 'member me tellin' you about her?" She carded her fingers through Kira's unruly hair and nudged her forward gently with a sad smile.

"Mama…aunnie Mo?"

"Yeh, baby, that's auntie Maura."

Kira regarded her with serious eyes for another moment before throwing her arms around her neck and nuzzling into her shoulder. "Aunnie Mo, I been'a good girl, mama says we see you an' Gran'ma S if I'm good. Wanna meet Gran'ma now?"

Tears filled Maura's eyes as she held Kira more tightly, rocking her from side to side gently. "Why don't we go back to the house, Kira; your mama and I will tell you all about Grandma S there, okay? Let's go."

* * *

In the privacy of the bedroom, Maura stood behind Jane, hands on her shoulders as she dragged the open ends of her shirt down her arms. "We don't have to do this tonight if you aren't ready, you know."

"It's been two months, Maur. They've long sine healed; I should be able to look at the damn things without feeling his hands on my skin, _under_ my skin." Jane shivered as she spoke and Maura let the shirt fall to the ground, splaying her fingers across Jane's back, on top of her bra. She traced the narrow scars that were visible near the nape of her neck and pressed her lips against the skin there. "Will you stay here with me? I – I want you to help me."

"Of course."

Jane took a deep breath as she reached back to unsnap her bra and let it fall to the floor, standing with her head bowed and her hair parted around her neck as her muscles trembled. Maura let her hand trail down Jane's back, feeling the dips and bumps of spine, and drifting to the side to curl her fingers around her ribs, she stepped up to mold her front against Jane's back. "You're beautiful."

Jane laughed hollowly. "With this on my skin? Know any better lines? Because I haven't been avoiding looking in a mirror for two months for no reason."

Maura kissed the nape of her neck and stepped back, tracing the scars with her eyes for a moment. She reached out and started at the top of one arcing scar, letting her finger run down the clean, narrow mark to an intersecting line, and followed that across Jane's spine to the opposite side. Jane stood stock still but for the trembling of her hands, flat against her thighs, and Maura took one of her hands and slowly led her to the bathroom off the bedroom. She walked Jane up to the mirror and shut the door, revealing the other mirror she had purchased to hang on the door, directly opposite the one over the sink. Jane shut her eyes immediately, clenching her fists atop the vanity and leaning over the sink with a frown on her lips.

"Jane." Maura ran her hands down Jane's arms, drawing the strain from them with a simple touch, but she refused to open her eyes. "Jay, darling. Open your eyes."

"I…Maur, what if – he's still there?"

"What if he isn't?" Maura kissed her shoulder, staring at her tightly closed eyes in the mirror. "What if you only see me and you? What if he no longer exists? Open those beautiful peepers, Jay."

Slowly, Jane pried open one eye, meeting Maura's gaze through the mirror, and she smiled wanly. Maura kissed her skin again and stepped back so Jane could see all the scars on her skin, watching with quiet pride as Jane studied them and slowly straightened. Her shoulders squared, her eyes brightened, and her hand curled loosely around the lip of the vanity as she peered more closely at the fading marks. "They're…so small."

"They've healed well." Maura ran her palm over the bottom of the scars that walked up her abdomen, drawing a shaky exhale form Jane. "They're only scars, Jay. They're only as important as you make them."

"I guess so." Jane turned and took Maura's hands, drawing her against her front. She set her hand on her waist and let Maura run her hands up and down her spine. "I guess things aren't so bad anymore, huh?"

"I've got my own personal angel, so I'd say they're pretty damn nifty, actually." She spread her hands across the marks on Jane's back, hiding half formed wings and the shape of feathers with her fingers as she stood on tiptoe to buss Jane's lips.

Jane tipped her head down and caught her before she could pull back completely, nipping her lip and drawing a happy sound from her. "Only pretty nifty?"

"Well, I would say they're the elephant's eyebrows, but someone still won't let me neck with her," Maura said coyly.

Jane smirked as she dragged Maura toward the bedroom. "We should remedy that. And maybe, if you play your cards right, there will be some nookie in the near future as well." She winked and Maura laughed as they tumbled onto the bed, eyes flashing with affection and hands wandering as they sank into each other, shutting out the rest of the world.


End file.
